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A SUMMER SIEGE 
A Story for Girls 


By 

LUCY T. POOR 

• \ 



BOSTON 

SHERMAN, FRENCH & COMPANY 
1914 


PZ.7 

s 


Copyright^ 1914 
SiiERMAx, French dr’ Company^ 




NOV -6 1914 


©GI.A388265 


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CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I A Foreign Invasion 1 

II The Home of the Stranger . . .11 

III A Passage of Arms 25 

IV Specimen Natives 34 

V A Lesson in History 47 

VI An Uncaged Bird 58 

VII Perils Past and Present .... 71 

VIII Rival Heroines 85 

IX A Day of Discovery 96 

X Two Conspiracies 106 

XI Shadows Cast before 117 

XII A Deserter 129 

XIII A Faithful Warder 146 

XIV A Flight into Darkness .... 159 

XV The Deserted 168 

XVI Friends to the Rescue .... 177 
XVII The Trail of the Missing . . .185 

XVIII News at First Hand 196 

XIX A Refuge in the Wilderness . . 209 

XX A Stronghold of Safety .... 224 

XXI A Further Flight 238 

XXII The Deserter’s Return .... 247 

XXIII The Field of Honor 257 

XXIV Home at Last 269 

XXV The Reason Why 280 

XXVI Afterclaps 289 

XXVII Reaching the Goal 304 



CHAPTER I 


A FOREIGN INVASION 

It was a warm June day, and the way train from 
Middleford Junction to Nomono was uncomfort- 
ably crowded. Perhaps the coolest looking peo- 
ple in the common car were two young girls who 
were dressed alike in dark gingham frocks, one of 
whom had taken off her plain shade hat. 

“ Take off your hat, Emmie, and be comfort- 
able, why don’t you.? ” she asked her companion, 
who was far too much like her in looks and dress 
to be anything but a sister. “ There ! I thought 
before that you were the only girl here who wasn’t 
sensible, except that girl at the end of the car 
with that queer looking woman who asks the con- 
ductor something whenever he comes through and 
has guide books enough to carry her to Alaska. 
I should think that girl would ruin her eyes, read- 
ing through two veils ! ” 

“ Perhaps they are going to the mills here, like 
every one else,” said Emeline softly. 

“ Except us, you mean. But if we were going 
to the mills, we’d be better dressed for them than 
any one else here. If a benevolent philanthropist 
1 


2 


A SUMMER, SIEGE 

were on board, he’d give us a medal for being 
model young factory girls.” 

Charlotte Gassett laughed, as she did very 
often, but the adage, ‘‘ Laugh and grow fat,” was 
not true in her case. Both she and Emeline were 
slender girls, and both had dark hair and hazel 
eyes. Emeline smiled, but did not answer. She 
was looking at a wild, picturesque sheet of water 
which the train was passing. She liked to see the 
world from a car window, and liked a wild land- 
scape a great deal better than the cheap houses 
which clustered round the little stations. She was 
enjoying her moment of quiet when her sister 
clutched her arm. 

“ Emmie, I guess something ! What do you 
think ” Then before Emeline had time to an- 
swer, “ I think that girl is Blanche, and that 
woman with her is her governess. You know they 
might be coming today.” 

“ But they wouldn’t be alone. Cousin Archie 
would be with them.” 

“ Perhaps he couldn’t leave New York. It must 
be Blanche. If there’s another girl on this con- 
tinent who is taken care of the way that girl is, all 
I can say is, I pity her. Look at them, Emmie ! ” 

Emeline waited till Charlotte was looking in an- 
other direction and then looked for herself. The 
unfortunate girl was indeed to be pitied. She 
wore at least two veils, as well as a hat, and 
leather travelling gloves. 

“ There are more than two of them,” said Erne- 


A FOREIGN INVASION 


line in an undertone. “ They are talking to that 
nice looking woman who sits behind them. Is she 
the maid.^ She looks like a lady.” 

“ She looks like a roasted lady,” said Charlotte, 
“ but I’m going to find out if that isn’t Blanche. 
Aren’t her eyebrows just like Uncle Jonathan’s? 
I tell you what I’ll do. I’ll offer them fans and 
begin that way.” 

Emeline looked again shyly at the strangers. 
She had some curiosity herself about their half- 
English cousin who was to make her first visit to 
Nomono at the same time that she and Charlotte 
returned there after a winter’s schooling in Bos- 
ton, but to be in a crowd affected her and her sis- 
ter in totally different ways. While Charlotte 
was pleasurably excited, Emeline shrank into her- 
self. Emeline was sometimes attracted by the 
girls she met, and if she had been alone would have 
made advances in her own way ; but then, she never 
was left alone. 

Charlotte rose and walked carefully down the 
central aisle of the swaying car. Without speak- 
ing, she held out a broad palm leaf fan to the one 
of the three strangers who sat behind the others. 

“ Thank you, miss,” was the response in a sweet 
toned English voice, but the speaker made no ef- 
fort to possess herself of the fan. 

“ Do take it,” said Charlotte. “ Don’t you 
want to fan yourself this hot day? ” 

“ No, thank you, miss.” The speaker’s voice 
was still sweet, and though perspiration was start- 


4 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


ing from every pore, she remained outwardly as 
calm as if she were sitting on a snow bank. 

The elder of the two ladies on the seat in front 
turned round and looked at Charlotte. 

“ This person is travelling with me,” she re- 
marked gravely. Her voice had a foreign sound, 
which yet was not exactly English. 

Unawed, Charlotte continued to inspect the 
party, especially the girl of about her own age 
whom the elder lady had placed next to the win- 
dow, behind a barricade of baskets, bags and 
shawls. She was a pretty girl, with lovely fair 
coloring, blue eyes and rich auburn hair. Her 
eyes, through her veils, met Charlotte’s with a 
look of intelligence, a look which seemed to imply 
that they were both girls and had something in 
common. 

“ Are you Blanche ” asked Charlotte suddenly. 

There was no answer in words, but a smile and 
an affirmative motion. 

“ How splendid ! ” exclaimed Charlotte, grasp- 
ing her hand, “ and you,” turning to her compan- 
ion, “ must be Miss Eslin, the governess. Of 
course you’re going to Nomono. We’re the cous- 
ins, you know, Blanche. I’ll sit right down here a 
minute behind you, with your friend.” 

“ Lowe, you may make room for the young 
lady,” said the leader of the party. 

“ No, thank you,” said Charlotte, as Miss Lowe, 
instead of merely making way for her, rose so as 


A FOREIGN INVASION 


5 


to allow her to take the seat by the window. “ I 
guess I can’t stay; I must go back to my sister 
Emeline. We’re going to Nomono, too. We 
spend the summer with Uncle Jonathan, you know, 
whenever we can, we love Nomono so much. We 
came down here as soon as we could when school 
was over. Father’s the partner who lives on the 
Pacific Coast, and mother likes to be with him all 
she can, because he isn’t very strong. We’ve been 
in California twice, so we’re great travellers. 
Now, Miss Eslin, isn’t that your right name? I 
tell you what would be fine. Let Blanche come 
and sit with us ; there’s lots of room for her. I’ll 
sit on my suit case, and we’ll get acquainted right 
ofF.” 

Charlotte was not so eager about her own plans 
that she did not see the dismay on the face of the 
governess. Had she known the extent of the 
stranger’s troubles she might have felt some pity 
for her. Poor Miss Eslin, for Charlotte had 
guessed rightly as to the lady’s identity, had re- 
fused a position of the highest respectability in 
the family of an English barrister to take what 
she considered the still more advantageous post 
of governess and companion to the young and 
beautiful heiress of an American millionaire. Of 
course he was a millionaire, all Americans were 
wealthy, that is, all Miss Eslin had ever known. 
She had felt perfectly competent to conduct the 
heiress to America, as she was an old traveller 


6 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


both in England and on the Continent. But since 
she had landed in this torrid country she had met 
with nothing but trouble and annoyance. 

After undergoing what she had considered a 
barbarous examination of her luggage by the cus- 
tom house officers, and having been duly frightened 
by the chaotic New York sky-scrapers, she had 
been put on board a train by Blanche’s New York 
uncle. With all her experience as a traveller she 
had found changing cars at the Junction, after 
which there was no drawing-room car, a difficult 
matter. Now a new problem confronted her 
in this strange, forward girl of whom she had 
never before heard, as Blanche had said little dur- 
ing the voyage of her American relations. Miss 
Eslin knew that she was bound for the house of Mr. 
Jonathan Gassett, a wealthy manufacturer, but 
she knew nothing more of the grandfather of her 
charge. She had looked forward to his house as 
a haven of refuge from the hot car and the strange 
people, but now she felt that even this hope might 
be disappointed. 

She feared that her party were exciting the 
American curiosity of which she had read, and 
glanced about her. All the travellers in her 
neighborhood appeared to be absorbed in their 
own affairs. Everyone looked so odd to Miss Es- 
lin that one oddity more or less didn’t count. A 
family of strange, pale, dark-haired and dark- 
eyed children were crowded into the seats in front. 


A FOREIGN INVASION 


7 


eating lunch out of . a basket and chewing gum. 
They did not disturb Charlotte, who knew in a 
moment that their parents were French Canadians 
bound for the Sharpstone River mills. She knew, 
too, that the men behind them with swarthy faces 
and red handkerchiefs round their necks were Ital- 
ian laborers for the new railroad cutting; while 
Miss Eslin, who looked upon all New Englanders 
as descended from the Pilgrim Fathers, must have 
thought, if she had had time to consider the mat- 
ter, that they had greatly changed from their an- 
cestral stock. 

While Miss Eslin hesitated, Charlotte went on 
talking and laughing, a merry laugh though not a 
loud one, which brought out the dimples round a 
pretty little mouth. Also, plainly as she was 
dressed, there was a neatness and suitability in her 
whole costume that pleased Miss Eslin’s travelled 
eye. At last, weighing her words carefully, the 
governess spoke. 

“ Miss Gassett had better not take the trouble 
of changing her seat now, thank you. We will 
meet your sister at the end of the journey. But 
you must not stand ; pray sit down. Why doesn’t 
the guard come through the carriage again I 
want to ask him — ” 

“ I can tell you everything about the road you 
want to know,” said Charlotte amiably ; “ we’ve 
been over it so many times.” 

There was little for her to point out at the mo- 


8 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


ment. The lake was passed and the train was now 
going through a wild tract of stunted trees and 
undergrowth. 

“Where are we.?^ ” asked Miss Eslin patiently. 

“ In Crossbrook ; we’re just coming to No- 
mono.” 

“ Then we are in the right county, — state, I 
should say.? ” 

“ You’re in the State of Massachusetts,” said 
Charlotte proudly. 

“ I always thought,” said Miss Eslin doubtfully, 
“ that Massachusetts was a populous and culti- 
vated country.” 

“ Oh,” said Charlotte, unheeding the disap- 
proval in the tone, “ railroads always do go 
through queer places, but you’ll like it when you 
get to Nomono. I’ve travelled a great deal, and I 
think it’s the nicest place in the world.” 

“How far does this beautiful forest extend.?” 
asked Miss Eslin, trying to speak in a cheerful 
tone. Before she had left England she had been 
warned by her only acquaintance who had ever 
been in “ The States ” that Americans could not 
bear the slightest criticism of their scenery, polit- 
ical institutions or social habits. 

“ It just goes a little round the edges of the 
town, and there aren’t any Indians in it now.” 

“ Indians, natives, you mean? ” 

“ Yes,” said Charlotte cheerfully ; “ you know 
Nomono is famous for its Indian history. We’ll 
show you Slaughter Hill, where the Indians were 


A FOREIGN INVASION 


9 


killed. They wanted to change the name to ‘ Crys- 
tal Rock,’ because crystals are found there some- 
times, but Uncle Jonathan wouldn’t let them. He 
said it would spoil the historical association. It 
happened in 1703. Four hundred Indians, with 
French Canadians, you know, came on a cold win- 
ter night and overpowered the English settlers at 
the old garrison house, but they were captured in 
their turn when they got to the hill by Major 
Adoniram Huckins with his Rangers, or whatever 
they were called, who marched over from Cross- 
brook. They set all the captives free and scalped 
seventy-three Indians. Major Huckins did most 
of them ; he was famous for scalping. You’re de- 
scended from him ; haven’t you heard of him, 
Blanche.? ” 

Blanche smiled; and Charlotte, giving her no 
time for further answer, continued, 

“ Now, if you won’t come and sit with us. Erne- 
line, my sister, must come and see you. Emmie, 
Emmie, here’s Blanche ! ” 

Emeline rose from her seat, was hastily intro- 
duced, then, as she did not like to stand up so con- 
spicuously in the car, pulled Charlotte back with 
her. The train whisked out of the woodland into 
a wide, elm-shaded village street and suddenly 
stopped at a good sized station. Seeing that 
their cousin’s party were overladen with hand lug- 
gage, Charlotte and Emeline seized all the bags 
and shawlstraps they could lay their hands on, 
and all were soon on the platform, where they were 


10 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


greeted by a lady who was on the watch for them. 
She had a fresh complexion and a fine figure, and 
her sweet face was young, though her hair was 
gray. 

“ My dear girls, how glad I am to see you ! 
And this is Blanche.? And you are Miss Eslin.? 
The carriage is just round the corner. Lottie, 
dear, I know you and Emmie won’t mind walking, 
if we take your bags in the carriage.” 

“We won’t mind at all. Cousin Kate. Won’t 
Blanche come with us.? She has been sitting still 
all day.” 

“ Wouldn’t you like to walk with the girls, 
dear.? ” asked Blanche’s aunt. 

“ I think she had better come with us, had she 
not .? ” said Miss Eslin. 

“ Oh, the girls will like to get acquainted,” said 
Miss Katherine Gassett easily. “ Run off, chil- 
dren, through the field. You’ll find your grand- 
father waiting for you, Blanche.” 

Charlotte gave Blanche a pull, and before Miss 
Eslin could object further the three girls had run 
off together. 


CHAPTER II 


THE HOME OF THE STRANGER 

The Gassett House on the High Street of No- 
mono might have served as a model of the old- 
fashioned country seat which contained the “ Old 
Clock on the Stair,” only that, instead of “ tall 
poplar trees,” the portico was shaded by a fine 
group of American elms and maples. The house 
was not really an old one, but had been well built 
in the most stately style of Colonial architecture. 
It was large and roomy and had a wing on each 
side. 

In a cool, airy room and refreshed by a bath. 
Miss Eslin began to take a more cheerful view of 
her American surroundings. She had been re- 
lieved, too, by her introduction to old Mr. Gas- 
sett. She did not know exactly what she had ex- 
pected an aged American millionaire to be like, 
but she had been agreeably disappointed to find 
that he looked something like the ideal of an old- 
fashioned English country squire, hale and hearty 
in spite of his years, his only infirmity appearing 
to be a decided deafness. 

If it were not for the two young cousins. Miss 
Eslin really thought that her situation might be 
11 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


quite a pleasant one, but here were these two girls 
over whom she had no authority and who were ap- 
parently allowed to do exactly as they pleased. 
They were nice looking girls and perhaps she 
could interest them in study or music. She was 
ready to give them some help in languages, which 
perhaps their aunt would appreciate if they did 
not. So Miss Eslin ordered Lowe, the maid, to 
put on Miss Gassett’s white muslin, and descended 
with her charge to a meal which might have been 
called a “ high tea,” suppressing her surprise that 
the family were in the habit of taking that unheard 
of meal, a midday dinner. 

“ Blanche,” said Charlotte, in a tone which 
showed that the girls had become pretty well ac- 
quainted in their walk together, “ I shall be jeal- 
ous of you, because you’re going to sit next to 
Uncle Jonathan and that’s always been my place. 
He doesn’t like an ear trumpet. You must scream 
to him and tell him what everybody says, or he’ll 
miss me terribly. Won’t you miss me. Uncle 
J onathan ? ” 

“No, I shan’t, Lottie, dear,” responded her 
uncle, with a twinkle of the eyes under his bushy 
gray brows ; “ I can hear you perfectly well across 
the table.” 

Not at all put out by this plain speaking, Char- 
lotte sat down in her new place between her cousin 
Kate and Miss Eslin, who was placed at her host’s 
left hand. After the first general formalities, Mr. 
Gassett devoted himself to his granddaughter, of 


THE HOME OF THE STRANGER 13 


whom he had heard all her life, but had never seen, 
and who had been brought across the ocean solely 
for his benefit, as since his deafness had developed 
he had not cared to travel. 

Blanche’s father, the oldest son of the family, 
had lived for some years in England for business 
reasons, and though he had made occasional fly- 
ing trips to his native country he had never yet 
been able to bring his daughter with him. After 
her mother’s death, and even after her father’s 
second marriage, Blanche had been under the care 
of her English aunt. Lady Dorwych. This Lady 
Dorwych appeared to be a formidable personage. 
She it was who had opposed one obstacle after 
another to her niece’s visit to America. Once 
Blanche had just had the measles and it would 
not be safe for her to travel ; at another time her 
aunt wished her to have the advantages of a for- 
eign tour with her cousin. Lady Dorwych’s own 
daughter, which her ladyship seemed to think 
would of course take the precedence of a trip to 
“ The States ” ; then it was not convenient for her 
father to bring her. But at last the elder Mr. 
Gassett would bear no more delay; Blanche must 
come, with or without her father. 

And now here was Blanche, as pretty as a pic- 
ture, the model of a sweet rosebud-like English 
girl. Nothing could be nicer and more respect- 
ful than her manner to her grandfather, though 
she did not address him as “ sir,” as her cousins 
did. When she saw that it was difficult for him 


14 * 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


to hear her, she raised her voice, coloring prettily 
as she made the effort. But nothing could be less 
satisfactory than the information she had to give. 
She answered every question in her pretty voice 
in such a final manner that one subject did not lead 
to another. The sum of her information was 
that her father was well. She didn’t know how 
soon he could come to America. Her mother, as 
she very properly called her step-mother, was well, 
too. With her two little half-brothers she hardly 
seemed to be acquainted; their photographs that 
she had brought with her were not yet unpacked, 
and there were none of the baby anecdotes for 
which the grandfather eagerly sought. Little 
John (he had been named for both father and 
grandfather, though Mr. Gassett had particularly 
requested that he should not bear through life the 
name of Jonathan) was well and sturdy. Wilfrid 
was a still larger and finer boy. Did they know 
anything about their grandfather in America 
Blanche confessed that she didn’t know. 

Miss Eslin was at first almost equally uncom- 
municative. Beyond the fact that she had been 
“ really quite ill ” on the voyage, little could be 
got out of her experiences. The truth was that 
she was anxiously afraid of doing the wrong thing, 
and perceived that she had already made a mis- 
take in being overdressed. As her charge’s com- 
panion she had expected to attend her at every 
meal, but was it for this that she had taken all the 
trouble of carrying a low-necked light silk gown 


THE HOME OF THE STRANGER 15 


in a suit case? She was sure that all Americans 
dressed a great deal, and had supposed that for 
a late meal full dress would be required, and here 
was Miss Gassett in a high necked lilac muslin, 
both pretty and becoming, it was true, but some- 
what faded and cut in the fashion of a few years 
back. Charlotte and Emeline had merely put on 
pretty white blouses with their plain white linen 
skirts. Miss Eslin wished that she could hide a 
necklace of rhinestones which she had been so de- 
luded as to wear, but as the meal progressed she 
tried to take heart and think of something to say. 

“ You must go round with the girls and see all 
the pretty places in town,” said Mr. Gassett, as a 
last effort to make his granddaughter talk. 
“ Some time they can take you up Crystal Rock 
to see the sun set.” 

“ Slaughter Hill, Uncle Jonathan, Slaughter 
Hill ! ” shouted Charlotte. 

“ What ? Oh, we won’t give anything in our 
town such a bad name just at first.” 

“ I think Slaughter Hill is a lovely name,” said 
Charlotte, “ a great deal better anyway than 
‘ Rattlesnake Mountain,’ as the boys call it.” 

“ There are no rattlesnakes there now, if there 
ever were,” said Miss Katherine. 

“ Rattlesnakes, they are venomous reptiles, are 
they not? ” asked Miss Eslin, with the air of one 
in quest of useful information. 

“ Oh, yes ; they kill you if you don’t drink a 
bottle of whiskey right off,” said Charlotte, while 


16 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


Mr. Gassett was asking Miss Eslin to repeat her 
question. “ Last time we all went up the hill, 
Blanche, Roger Collamore had a rattle he kept 
rattling all the time to scare us.” 

“ What a nasty little boy ! ” exclaimed Miss 
Eslin, in a tone of forced sociability. But she 
feared she had made another mistake when she saw 
that Miss Katherine and Emeline smiled, while 
Charlotte laughed outright. 

“ What is it, Lottie.?^ ” asked her uncle, who 
had found his evening meal not as lively an occa- 
sion as usual. 

Cousin Kate shook her head, and Charlotte, 
who appeared to be intensely amused, gulped down 
something with her chocolate ; while, what puzzled 
Miss Eslin more than anything else, her own pu- 
pil, Blanche, smiled in answer to her cousins,. 
Perhaps Miss Gassett had not approved of the 
word “ nasty,” and, afraid of any more ventures 
in conversation. Miss Eslin relapsed into a si- 
lence so depressing that Miss Kate was glad to 
adjourn the company to the wide piazza. There 
Miss Eslin hoped her pupil would take refuge by 
her side, but as they left the table Blanche was 
drawn to the other girls as naturally as iron to a 
magnet. 

Mr. Gassett retreated into the house, to an arm- 
chair in his study and the evening paper, and his 
daughter was left to a tete-a-tete with Miss Eslin. 
Miss Gassett wanted to be friendly and perhaps 
apologize for the laughter of which her guest had 


THE HOME OF THE STRANGER 17 


been the cause, but she hardly knew how to begin 
and was much relieved when a brisk looking little 
lady with dark eyes and hair, and a dress so ex- 
tremely plain that Miss Eslin would have called it 
a morning gown, walked up the path towards the 
piazza. Charlotte and Emeline were apparently 
as glad to see her as their cousin was, and she 
was soon introduced to the strangers as “ Miss 
Marvin.” Miss Marvin first went into the house, 
where she chatted a little with Mr. Gassett in a 
peculiarly distinct but pleasant voice. She then 
inspected Blanche and remarked, as Charlotte had 
before on the train, on the real resemblance that 
the girl bore to her grandfather. She greeted 
Miss Eslin in a friendly manner, with a sort of 
camaraderie implying that she and the stranger 
had some interest in common, a manner that even 
Miss Eslin seemed to feel. She explained that she 
was so anxious to welcome the newcomers she 
couldn’t help coming in when she saw the family 
on the piazza, but she couldn’t stay. 

“ You’re not working now surely, when school 
is over,” said Miss Kate. 

Oh, no, I finished my work for the year yes- 
terday, but I promised Roger Collamore I’d give 
him a lesson in Greek every evening. The poor 
boy must pass off his condition.” 

“We heard he had two conditions this year,” 
said Miss Kate sadly. 

“ Yes,” said Miss Marvin, “ Greek and mathe- 
matics. He had better have kept to fancy 


18 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


courses, but his father wanted him to take Greek. 
I teach in our High School,” she explained 
to Miss Eslin. “ We grow interested in our boys 
and girls, you know, and Roger Collamore is a 
valuable boy.” 

“ Do you — do you have male pupils ? ” asked 
Miss Eslin doubtfully. “ Is it like an endowed 
school ” 

“ No,” said Miss Marvin, “ it is a public school, 
what you would call a National School, I sup- 
pose. All the town boys and girls go to it. Char- 
lotte and Emeline went for a while before they 
went to Boston. But Roger Collamore gradu- 
ated three years ago. He is in Harvard now, and 
it is very important that he should stay there.” 

“ Poor boy,” said Miss Kate, “ it must have 
been so hard for him to lose the race, too ! ” 

There was a general groan. 

“ O Miss Hope,” exclaimed Charlotte, “ is 
Roger going to your house.? Ask him to come 
here, won’t you, on his way home.? He ought to 
call on Blanche and he might just as well come 
now as any other time.” 

Cousin Kate wished she had some hidden ma- 
chinery with which she could repress Charlotte. 
She didn’t wonder at Miss Eslin’s amazement. 
Charlotte saw it too, but like most things in life 
Miss Eslin’s expression affected her ludicrously 
and she could hardly keep from laughing. 

Miss Marvin rose to take her leave, promising 


THE HOME OF THE STRANGER 19 


Miss Eslin that she would make a more formal 
call some afternoon. Miss Kate could not but 
be pleased by hearing Miss Eslin ask Blanche if 
she wasn’t tired and wouldn’t like to go upstairs. 
Blanche thanked her, but wasn’t at all tired. 

“ You mustn’t go to bed now! ” exclaimed Char- 
lotte ; “ why, Roger Collamore is coming to call 
on you.” 

“ That’s no matter,” interposed Cousin Kate 
hastily ; “ there’ll be plenty of chances for him 
to come later.” 

“ I should think he ought to go to bed after his 
lesson,” said Miss Eslin. She seemed to be keep- 
ing back something more; indeed she felt a very 
proper disapproval of what she supposed to be 
the American habit of schoolboys making evening 
calls. 

“ Wouldn’t you like to go upstairs yourself. 
Miss Eslin.f^ ” asked Miss Kate. “Let me come 
with you and see if your room is comfortable.” 

Miss Eslin, however, insisted on staying up, de- 
claring that she was not so tired after all. 

“ What does she mean to do,” thought poor 
Aunt Kate ; “ watch Blanche every moment as if 
she were a babe in arms.^^ ” 

An hour passed which would have been a weary 
time to Aunt Kate and Emeline had it not been 
for Charlotte’s happy faculty of talking in every 
possible situation. She ran cheerfully on about 
California and New England, travelling in general 


20 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


and what was to be seen in Nomono, till at last 
Blanche consented to go upstairs and went to 
wish her grandfather good night. 

“ Why, here’s Roger ! ” exclaimed Charlotte, 
slipping out on to the porch with Emeline. 
“Rod, how awfully glad I am to see you! We 
won’t talk about that dreadful race. You’re just 
in time to see Blanche before she goes to bed.” 

“ Oh, don’t bother her now,” said Roger mod- 
estly. “ I’ll be coming again.” 

“ But you must see her, she’s expecting you 
soon. Do you know, Emmie and I met her on the 
train with her governess. Miss Eslin, and her 
maid, Something-or-other Lowe — ‘ Lowe,’ they 
call her.'’ Isn’t it dreadful to call a woman such 
a name.? I thought she was the governess at 
first, or I pretended I did. Really, she’s nicer 
looking than Miss Eslin.” 

Roger showed that he was not too depressed 
with ill fortune by being amused by this simple ac- 
count. 

“ But I think,” interposed Emeline, “ that Miss 
Eslin is quite pretty. She has lovely eyes.” 

“ Yes, but she looks so queer. In the train she 
was dressed as if she was going to Nova Zembla, 
and now, just think! she has a low necked dress 
on with a diamond necklace, only I know they are 
just rhinestones.” 

“ And does Blanche have a governess with a di- 
amond necklace, and a maid (in uniform, I sup- 
pose) after her all the time.? ” asked Roger. 


THE HOME OF THE STRANGER 21 


“ Roger ! ” called Mr. Gassett from the house, 
with his strong, unmodulated voice, “ are you out 
there ? Come right in here ! ” 

Roger rose, stepped in through the long win- 
dow and advanced to Mr. Gassett’s chair, care- 
fully avoiding as he went any contact with a low- 
hung crystal chandelier. 

“ This is Mr. Roger Collamore, Miss Eslin,” 
said Miss Katherine. “ This is Roger, Blanche.” 

Charlotte, who was behind, disappeared on to 
the piazza for another laugh. Miss Eslin’s coun- 
tenance as Roger bowed might have upset the 
gravity of a person less inclined to hilarity than 
was Charlotte. Had the lady really expected a 
little boy in short trousers and an Eton jacket.? 
Roger Collamore was six feet two and well pro- 
portioned for his height. 

“ Roger,” said Mr. Gassett, ‘‘ tell me about this 
race you lost. How was it.? ” 

“ I guess it was because they had me on board, 
sir.” 

“ Well, but was it true, as they had it in the 
papers — ” 

Miss Katherine was again on thorns. Though 
Roger Collamore was the most good natured boy 
in the world, he couldn’t like to be questioned in 
public about such a delicate matter as the inner 
history of a Harvard-Yale boat race. Yale had 
just defeated Harvard at New London, an incom- 
prehensible misfortune to the Nomono people 
when Roger Collamore was on the Harvard crew. 


22 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


They were sure that if Roger had been alone in 
the boat the result would have been different. 
Roger Collamore had always been the darling of 
his native town from the time when, a splendid 
baby, he had been wheeled through its streets in 
his carriage, with a cheerful smile for all he met. 

But Mr. Gassett had long ago found out that 
the best way for a man who could not hear the or- 
dinary currency of conversation was to ask what 
he really wanted to know when he could get the 
best authority, and he continued his catechism 
until he got on to a still more difficult subject. 

“ What’s this I hear, Roger, of your having 
trouble with your Greek.? ” 

“ Flunked it entirely, sir ! ” shouted Roger 
cheerfully. 

“ Well, that wasn’t your fault, I suppose. It 
was your being called out in the winter with the 
Battery.” 

“ I guess I should have failed it just the same, 
sir,” said Roger, confessing his weaknesses in a 
tone loud enough to be heard by the entire neigh- 
borhood. 

“ Roger belongs to Battery X,” explained 
Charlotte proudly to Miss Eslin and Blanche; 
“ they had to go to put down awful riots in Beck- 
borough, only ten miles from here. We thought 
he might be killed when we didn’t hear for a day 
what had become of the Battery. Didn’t they 
say they’d kill you, Roger.? ” 

“ No,” said Roger, refusing to second Char- 


THE HOME OF THE STRANGER 23 


lotte’s mischievous attempt to startle Miss Eslin, 
“ they didn’t say anything worse than ‘ We’ll take 
care of the Harvard babies.’ ” 

He smiled as if serving in the militia was as 
cheerful an experience as failing in a college ex- 
amination, and if he found the present inquisi- 
tion a still harder ordeal, he never showed it. 

“ Well,” said Mr. Gassett, who had not heard 
anything that Roger had not specially addressed 
to him, “ you’ll have to have some tutoring and 
try again in SeptembeF. Aren’t there fellows in 
Cambridge who’ll warrant to put you through? 
How about Mixter? ” 

“ I shouldn’t dare to ask father to pay him, 
sir. Mixter’s bills — ” 

“ Don’t you worry about his bill. Tell him to 
send his bill to me.” 

“ Thank you, sir, but I guess Miss Hope can 
coach me as well as anybody. She knows what I 
want.” 

The girls drew together again, leaving Miss 
Eslin by herself. That lady’s amazement broke 
through her resolution of asking no questions. 

“ Is, is,” she asked Miss Gassett aside, “ this 
young gentleman, who seems to have been serving 
in your territorial forces, is he a pupil of that 
lady who was just here? ” 

“Miss Marvin? Oh, yes, she teaches Greek at 
the High School. Roger is rather big,” contin- 
ued Miss Kate, as if Roger’s height needed some 
apology, “ but he’s a very nice boy. We are all 




A SUMMER SIEGE 


very fond and proud of him. Now I’m sure you 
must be tired and Blanche, too. Do come up- 
stairs. My father will probably keep Roger for 
some time.” 


CHAPTER III 


A PASSAGE OF ARMS 

“ ‘ You don’t know much, and that’s a fact! ’ ” 
quoted Charlotte from ‘‘ Alice in Wonderland,” 
when she and Emeline were in their bedroom. It 
was a large bright pretty room, with windows 
on three sides, as it was at the end of the east wing 
of the house. It contained two little white beds, 
two bureaus, and two closets opened from it. 

“ Don’t you think she might make up, if she 
really hasn’t anything to say.? I know I could 
invent a lot to tell Uncle Jonathan. But isn’t it 
splendid to be here again.? That governess 
needn’t look so critical. If she doesn’t like this 
place, it shows she has no sense at all.” 

To this sentiment Emeline gladly agreed. Un- 
cle Jonathan’s house was more of a home to the 
girls than any other place. He was like a grand- 
father to them, and as old as a grandfather would 
have been. They were the children of his younger 
brother, who was in turn some years older than 
their mother. Emeline in her way was as devoted 
to Uncle Jonathan as her sister was, but her way 
was very different from Charlotte’s. Once when 
she was four years old Emmie had been asked by 
25 


26 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


one of her mother’s visitors if she could talk. 
While she was thinking how to give a proper an- 
swer to such a foolish question, Charlotte spoke 
for her: 

“ She can talk, but she doesn’t have much time 
to.” 

This was true enough. Though Charlotte was 
always good natured, Emeline had little chance 
either to talk or to have her own way. Had she 
been a stupid girl, she really would have had a bet- 
ter chance of making a place of her own in the 
world, but so far was she from being backward 
that, though twenty months younger, she was in 
the same class at school with Charlotte. She was 
just as tall, too, and looked almost exactly like 
her sister; but, while Charlotte was merely slen- 
der, Emeline was positively thin and delicate look- 
ing. This appearance of fragility, however, was 
deceptive ; she was really just as strong as Char- 
lotte and even more expert at outdoor games. 

Except for their mother, now far away with 
their father on the Pacific Coast, Uncle Jonathan 
was the only person in the world who kept, or 
tried to keep, an impartial balance between the 
sisters’ rights. Their father and Cousin Kate, 
dear and nice as they both were, would give first 
to the child who asked first, but Uncle Jonathan 
treated them with the plain justice which was part 
of his nature and which made the youngest errand 
boy in his employ feel sure of a ‘‘ square deal ” 
from “ Old Man Gassett,” as he was affection- 


A PASSAGE OF ARMS 


ately called behind his back. He would say, even 
when Emeline, as a small child, made no effort to 
assert her rights, “ Let Emmie have it, it’s her 
turn.” He would even tell Charlotte to hold her 
tongue, saying, “Now I want to hear Emmie 
talk a little.” No special indulgence or petting 
could have made Emmie so fond of Uncle Jona- 
than and so grateful to him as did this strict jus- 
tice. She didn’t want to be a favorite. She was 
satisfied with just having her rights. She didn’t 
want to talk much either. She had learned to be 
happy in her own way, and was really devoted to 
Charlotte, from whom she had never been sepa- 
rated. As no two sisters could have looked more 
alike, no sisters could have been fonder of each 
other. 

It was fortunate that the first few days after 
Blanche’s arrival there was so much to do in set- 
tling the visitors that there was something to talk 
about. Miss Kate loved young people and had 
thought beforehand that she would get on as beau- 
tifully with Blanche as with any other girl. 
What she dreaded was the governess and the maid. 
She had provided a separate room for each, but 
found that she had not done enough when Miss 
Eslin asked, where was the schoolroom.? Miss 
Gassett, with a good deal of trouble to her- 
self, immediately turned an upstairs sitting-room, 
known as the “ sewing-room,” into a schoolroom, 
— an ominous name, as Charlotte whispered to 
Emeline. 


28 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


Then Miss Kate wonderted how the English 
maid, Lowe, would get on in their composite but 
very American household. There was Bridget 
Gallagher, the cook, an old fashioned Irishwoman 
of the best kind, quite as devoted to the Gassett 
family as if her ancestors had been their feudal 
retainers, but with a temper of her own when what 
she considered her rights were infringed. Next 
there was Swedish Agda Mohlgren, the housemaid, 
a pretty and efficient girl, if a little dressy and 
flighty. Lastly, as laundress and for extra sweep- 
ing and cleaning, Mrs. Vesta Prendergast, who 
lived outside the house, was employed. She was, 
perhaps, the last relic in New England of the old- 
fashioned “ help,” and a great help she was, 
though she never thought of putting a handle 
on to the girls’ names, and sometimes would even 
call Miss Gassett “ Kitty.” Why shouldn’t she, 
when they had been to the same school together.? 
As Mrs. Prendergast had made an unfortunate 
marriage, lost most of her children, and had had 
every kind of misfortune, she considered herself a 
deeply experienced woman and “ Kitty a giddy 
child who needed to be looked after. All these 
women went to diflTerent churches, and Miss Kate 
supposed that Miss Lowe would want to go to 
another one also, if she were an English Church- 
woman. She was relieved when she found that 
“ Lowe ” gave very little trouble. “ A decent 
body,” as Bridget explained, “ no trouble at all, 
if you only made her tea strong enough.” Miss 


A PASSAGE OF ARMS 


29 


Kate begged that tea might be constantly on tap 
in the kitchen and laid in a large supply of the 
best “ English breakfast ” brand. 

For three days, with Lowe’s help, Blanche and 
her governess were occupied in settling themselves 
in their rooms, Blanche all the time keeping her 
post of honor at the table beside her grandfather. 
When the next Monday’s breakfast was over, Mr. 
Gas sett announced that he would drive down to 
the village and asked Blanche to accompany him. 

The company adjourned to the porch where 
the old horse. Captain, harnessed in a little open 
wagon, was waiting at the hitching post. Char- 
lotte could not help noticing the expression on 
Miss Eslin’s face. The lady’s countenance 
seemed to her to wear an expression of chronic 
disapproval of everything and everybody in No- 
mono, but now this general disapproval seemed 
concentrated upon Mr. Gassett’s driving equipage. 

“ Come, jump in, Blanche,” said her grand- 
father, “ I’ll take you all round town and show 
you to everybody.” 

“ I hardly think — ” began Miss Eslin, “ I had 
rather that Blanche did not go out mornings. 
She can take a walk later. But now it is Mon- 
day and we are quite unpacked and settled we 
ought to begin our regular reading and study, 
and — ” 

“ What,” exclaimed Mr. Gassett, “ study ! Oh, 
nobody studies here in the summer. Come along, 
Blanche ! Lottie, if you and Emmie want to 


30 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


jump in behind, you can. You’d better come, 
too, and after we’ve been around town, we’ll go 
up to the Boulder Pasture and get some laurel, 
and you can jump out to open the gates.” 

“ I had rather, sir,” repeated Miss Eslin in a 
loud formal tone, “ I had decidedly rather that 
Blanche did not go out in the morning. She might 
drive in the afternoon, if it would be convenient. 
But I am sure that her father and her aunt would 
wish her to go on with her regular music practis- 
ing and French and German reading, even in holi- 
day time. Lady Dorwych told me particularly 
in the interview I had with her — ” 

Charlotte waited to hear no more. She rushed 
into the kitchen where Cousin Kate and Bridget 
were planning the day’s housekeeping. 

“ Cousin Kate, Cousin Kate,” she whispered 
breathlessly, “ Uncle Jonathan wants Blanche to 
go to the village with him, and that nasty Miss 
Eslin, what a nice English word she’s taught us ! 
won’t let her go. She says she mustn’t ! ” 

“ I will see to it, my dear,” said Miss Katherine 
in a self-controlled voice which was intended as a 
hint to Charlotte to quiet herself down. 

Katherine went to the porch, really troubled, 
indeed almost in a panic. She had never before 
in her life been obliged to stand up for her rights. 
She was more alarmed than ever when she reached 
the scene of action and saw the flush on her fa- 
ther’s face. Mr. Gassett had a quick way with 
him sometimes, and since he had grown deaf did 


A PASSAGE OF ARMS 


31 


not always realize how much momentary temper 
he showed. The indignant look on Emeline’s face 
showed that there had been some passage of arms. 
For once in her life, Emmie looked as if she would 
fly into a passion the next moment. As for 
Blanche, her Aunt Kate didn’t like her expres- 
sion either. She looked covertly amused, and 
somehow it didn’t seem proper for her to be amused 
at this time. 

“ What is it, my dear? ” asked Katherine. 
“ Does your grandfather want you to drive with 
him ? ” ' 

“ I had rather Blanche did not go out in the 
morning,” repeated Miss Eslin. She was a tall 
woman and as she drew herself up she looked quite 
formidable. 

“ Are you going to the village, father? ” asked 
Katherine. 

“ I won’t go at all,” said Mr. Gassett hotly. 
“ I didn’t want to go except to take Blanche. 
Emmie, you can go and tell David to take Captain 
back to the stable.” 

Katherine Gassett looked at her niece and her 
niece’s governess. 

“ Blanche ! ” she said, “ go after your grand- 
father immediately and ask him to drive you to 
the village! Miss Eslin, I am sorry to differ from 
you, but everything my father wants in his own 
house must be done at once. While she is here 
Blanche must give him all the time he asks. If 
you are to teach my niece anything else, I do not 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


think we shall require your services. I will write 
to my brother about it and I am sure he will agree 
with me.” 

Charlotte, who was behind her cousin, clapped 
her hands in pantomime. 

“ I don’t want to go,” repeated Mr. Gassett, 
and he disappeared into the house. His momen- 
tary gust of temper was over and he looked more 
grieved than angry. 

“ Blanche,” repeated her aunt, ‘‘ go as I told 
you and tell your grandfather you are ready to 
drive with him.” 

Still Blanche hesitated, with that same hardly 
perceptible smile, as if she were amused by her 
elders’ quarrel and didn’t care which party won. 
What she would have done if left to herself could 
never be known, for Charlotte seized her by one 
arm, exclaiming, 

“ Blanche, you just come right along with us ! ” 

Emeline, gladly playing second, seized the other 
arm, and the two girls between them dragged 
Blanche into the house and into Mr. Gassett’s 
study. 

“ Hullo, Uncle Jonathan ! ” called Charlotte, 
“ why don’t you come? We’re all ready to go.” 

In less than a minute Mr. Gassett was out again 
on the porch, helping Blanche on to the seat be- 
side him, while Charlotte and Emeline jumped in 
behind, with their backs to the seat and their feet 
hanging down. Charlotte was radiant with tri- 
umph, Emeline still burning with indignation. 


A PASSAGE OF ARMS 


33 


Emmie was quite quick enough to see the look of 
hidden contempt with which Miss Eslin had viewed 
the little open wagon with its wooden floor cov- 
ered with an old oilcloth. Emmie had lately felt 
rather too old to go in the back of the wagon. 
Now she was proud to go in any vehicle driven by 
Uncle Jonathan. 

Captain started off. Miss Kate, in terror at 
her own daring, and frightened now that she had 
gained her point, retreated to the kitchen. The 
quarrel had arisen so suddenly she had been un- 
prepared for it and now feared that she had not 
done right, or managed in the best possible man- 
ner. Miss Eslin was left alone on the porch. 
Her face twitched and she ran quickly upstairs 
to hide herself in her own room. 


CHAPTER IV 
SPECIMEN NATIVES 

It was a long time before the party returned. 
Mr. Gassett was apt to start out in the morning, 
visit the office at the factory, in which he was still 
interested though no longer an active manager, 
look at the new library building which he and his 
sons were presenting to the town of Nomono, and 
then call on any neighbor who might be in need 
of help or advice. He had plenty of business of 
his own this morning, though his first object was 
to display his precious granddaughter. 

Blanche was duly shown the church, the half- 
finished library, the great boulder monument with 
its bronze tablet in memory of the early settlers 
killed at the massacre before the battle of Slaugh- 
ter Hill, and all the sights to be seen in a pros- 
perous New England town, divided into residence 
and factory districts. The factories had all the 
newest appliances from electric power for the ma- 
chinery to smoke consumers in the chimneys, and 
the workmen’s homes and boarding-houses were 
neat-looking and prosperous. 

She said but little to show her real opinion of 
these sights. Once she complained of the heat, 
34 


SPECIMEN NATIVES 


35 


upon which her grandfather stopped at a drug 
store and treated all the party to an iced soda. 
She seemed bewildered when Mr. Gassett went 
into a printing office and left her to hold the reins. 

“ You’d better let me,” said Charlotte. “ I 
know Captain, and there may be autos coming 
round.” 

“ Aren’t we going home soon ? ” asked Blanche. 

“ Oh, not yet, I guess. You haven’t seen half 
the town. You don’t know Nomono yet at all.” 

“ It’s so warm,” objected Blanqhe plaintively. 

“ We’ll go home if you’re tired,” said Emeline ; 
“ Uncle Jonathan will take you if you want to 
go.” 

“ I should think you’d be afraid of going home,” 
said Charlotte. “ What will that Miss Eslin do 
to you.f^ If she scolds you, tell us, and we’ll tell 
Uncle Jonathan.” 

“ I think she was a good deal vexed,” assented 
Blanche in her pretty voice, hut with such an in- 
expressive manner that no one could have told 
whether or not she sympathized with the vexa- 
tion. 

“ It must be dreadful to be with her all the 
time,” said Charlotte frankly. “ How can you 
stand it ? ” 

“ Oh, one must expect to have a governess 
about,” said Blanche, as if a governess were a 
necessary piece of furniture. 

“ I shouldn’t expect it, I should hate it. I 
should think the governess would hate it, too.” 


36 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


Blanche made no answer and stifled a yawn. 
It was evident that she was not at all interested in 
anything she had been shown. The simple his- 
torical tablet wasn’t much after all she had seen 
in Europe, and she had never cared for the his- 
tories of the famous towns through which she had 
been conducted. One must expect a certain 
amount of history, just as one expected govern- 
esses to teach it. 

“ Do you like tennis ? ” asked Charlotte, hop- 
ing to strike some subject on which Blanche would 
have an opinion. 

“ Yes, but one couldn’t play it here, it’s so 
warm.” 

“ You’ll get accustomed to the heat,” said Char- 
lotte cheerfully. “ It makes the muscles flexible, 
they say.” But as her back was turned to 
Blanche, she touched her sister and gave a com- 
ical smile, expressive of her own utter boredom. 

“ Ah,” she exclaimed, “ here’s Roger. Rod, 
how do you do? ” 

“ Well, how are you? ” asked Roger. “ Hullo, 
Emmie ! Hullo, Blanche ! Going all about town ? ” 

“ Oh, yes,” said Blanche, “ I’ve seen a great 
deal. My grandfather has been driving us all 
about the village. How beautiful these fine elms 
are ! ” 

“ Yes, we’ve got some corkers. You ought to 
see the big one on the Crossbrook Road. Say! 
How long are you going to be here, Blanche? ” 

Blanche smiled and didn’t know. She expected 


SPECIMEN NATIVES 


37 


to spend the summer in America, but believed her 
grandfather was to take them on some journeys. 

“ They’re lots of things for you to do here,” 
said Roger. “ We’ll go up Slaughter Hill and 
have a picnic at Pumpkin Pond.” He seemed 
to think that politeness required he should stay 
by the girls while they were left in the wagon. 

“ Good plan to leave you here,” he continued ; 
“ all the people in town can get a good look at 
you, Blanche. Everybody’s heard of you, and 
you must sit as if I were snapping a camera on 
you. Lots of rubber necks in town this morn- 
ing.” 

“ You must tell me what that means,” said 
Blanche. “ I’ve seen it in print somewhere, and 
I know lots of English slang, but I’ve forgotten 
that.” 

Charlotte nudged Emeline as they sat together 
behind. 

“ Listen,” she whispered, “ listen, Emmie ! 
She’s talking at last ! She’s talking ! ” 

Roger was explaining what a “ rubber neck ” 
meant, when Mr. Gassett appeared at the shop 
door, exchanging a few last words with a man who 
followed him. Roger stood by Captain’s head 
while the old gentleman climbed in. 

“ Tired, my dear? ” Mr. Gassett asked Blanche, 
as he gathered up the reins and started Captain 
off with a clucking sound. 

“ Not at all, thank you,” said Blanche. 

“ You didn’t mind, did you,” asked Emeline, 


38 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“that Roger called you ‘Blanche’? You see, 
you’re our cousin and he’s known us so long and 
always calls us by our first names.” 

“ Oh, no, I suppose it’s the custom here,” said 
Blanche placidly. 

In a few minutes Mr. Gassett pulled up the reins 
again. 

“Hullo!” he exclaimed. “Why, Blanche, 
there’s your nurse, — governess, I mean. 
Hullo I ” he shouted cheerfully to Miss Eslin, 
“ finding your way about already ? Where do 
you want to go ? ” 

The old man felt that he had gained a victory 
in running off with his granddaughter, and now, 
like a goodhearted child, he wanted to make up 
for any mortification to the governess’s feelings 
as soon as possible. 

“ Thank you, sir,” said Miss Eslin, in her loud 
but distant tone ; “ I thought I would walk to the 
post office.” 

“ You won’t gain anything by going there now. 
The next mail doesn’t go out till the afternoon. 
See here, these girls can all run home together, 
and I’ll take you round and show you the sights.” 

“ Thank you, sir, but I thought I would buy 
some stamps.” Miss Eslin held a letter tight in 
her hand as if she feared it would be taken from 
her by force. 

“ Well, I’ll take you to the post office, if you 
really want to go there. First, let’s go into the 
bank here. I’ve an errand with Mr. Collamore.” 


SPECIMEN NATIVES 


The Nomono National and Savings Banks were 
both in a one-storied building of white granite on 
the main street. 

“ I guess I won’t take out the weight here,” 
said Mr. Gassett. “ You all go in and look round 
and then I’ll come. Ah, Doctor, want to speak to 
me.? ” And he fell into a cheerful conversation 
with the doctor, which could have been heard bj 
every inhabitant of the street. 

Meanwhile Charlotte, Emeline and Blanche 
walked into the bank building, followed by Miss 
Eslin, who kept as near her charge as possible. 
There seemed to Blanche absolutely nothing to 
be seen inside. The place was cool and quiet, and 
comfortable after the heat of the street. A good 
natured looking gentleman, who resembled Roger 
Collamore, had apparently just appeared from an 
inner office, and was engaged in earnest conversa- 
tion with a thin, middle-aged woman in black. 
She would hardly have been called a gentlewoman 
in any country, though her dress was scrupulously 
neat. An elderly man stood by her, in a spotless 
black coat, whose tall stooping figure showed a 
patient attitude toward hard work and life in gen- 
eral. 

“ It’s all right, Mrs. Ackers,” Mr. Collamore 
was saying ; “ we’ll take good care of your money, 
but of course you can draw it with your husband’s 
consent.” 

“Why can’t I have it without his consent.? 
Haven’t I a right to my own money .? ” asked the 


40 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


woman in a fretful, high-pitched voice. “ I ain’t 
going to be treated like a baby.” 

“ No one wants to treat you like a baby, 
mother,” said her companion, evidently her hus- 
band, soothingly, “ only you know by Cousin Abi- 
jah’s will I’m the legal administrator.” 

“ I guess I don’t want a guardeen appointed 
over me,” said the irate Mrs. Ackers in a louder 
key. 

Charlotte’s ready dimples appeared, and she al- 
most laughed aloud as she caught Mr. Collamore’s 
eye. His distress had, indeed, something comic in 
it, and she was provoked that Miss Eslin and 
Blanche looked merely bored and disgusted, while 
Emeline, who seemed to feel responsible for the 
conduct of Nomono people, was quite distressed. 

“ It doesn’t show that you’re not competent for 
everything, Mrs. Ackers,” said Mr. Collamore 
blandly, “ only in law, you know, there always 
must be some one responsible. Now, as your hus- 
band — ” He went on with a long and appar- 
ently lucid explanation of the clauses in the will of 
Cousin Abijah, who had prudently tied up the 
property he had bequeathed to his female relative 
with various legal restrictions. But Mrs. Ackers 
paid him not the slightest attention.! 

“ It was left to me, and it’s my own money,” 
she persisted. “ You’ve all been to some lawyer. 
Well, I’ll go to law, too. I’ll go to Lawyer Pay- 
son and have it without asking any one ! ” 

Her voice was now almost a scream. Mr. Col- 


SPECIMEN NATIVES 


41 


lamore made a sign to show that there were other 
witnesses besides the bank teller and cashier. 

“ I don’t care who hears ! ” exclaimed Mrs. 
Ackers, “ and I don’t care who laughs. Lottie 
Gassett, I want to know ! Is that you laughing 
at me.? A woman who’s old enough to be your 
grandmother.? But you never did know how to 
behave yourself. I’ve not forgotten the way you 
acted when you came out to the picnic at the 
Knoll. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” 

The more Mrs. Ackers scolded, the more Char- 
lotte felt like laughing, and her mirth was in- 
creased by the expressions on the faces of her 
three companions. Emmie looked imploringly 
and would have liked to pull her sister out of the 
building. 

“ Mrs. Ackers, youi mustn’t mind me,” said 
Charlotte, trying to control herself ; “ you know I 
just laugh at nothing. I don’t mean anything.” 

“ Yes, you are apt to laugh; you’re awful silly 
sometimes,” admitted Mrs. Ackers grudgingly. 

There was a shadow in the bank doorway, and 
a tall middle-aged gentleman who had been talking 
in the street with Uncle Jonathan and the doctor 
now entered. 

“ Good morning, Collamore I ” he exclaimed. 
“ Ah, here’s Mrs. Ackers. How did you get here.? 
By trolley.? I don’t believe you want to walk all 
the way from Brickett’s Crossing to the farm. I’ll 
drive you back if you’d like it.” 

“ No, you won’t, general,” said Mrs. Ackers, 


42 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


who appeared to have a quarrel with the world in 
general. “ I ain’t a-going to be driven round the 
country with none of your fast horses and be run 
into by autos.” 

“ I’m not driving any of my fast horses ; I’ve 
only old Shiloh in the Democrat wagon. I’m 
afraid you’ll be pretty slow getting home, but you 
can put all your bundles in behind, and I’ll leave 
you at your own door. Just do your business 
here first.” 

“ I ain’t going to do any business here. I’m 
going to consult Lawyer Payson.” 

“ Well, as I understand it,” said the general, 
“ your leaving your money here, where it’s as safe 
as it can be, doesn’t show that you agree to your 
husband’s having the care of it. Let it alone till 
you’ve consulted Payson. You must have plenty 
of money here in your own right. I suppose 
you’ve your errands to do yet? ” 

“ Yes, I want some pans at Johnson’s, and to 
go to the Arcade, but I want to settle first if I’m 
not to have my own money, without — ” 

But Mrs. Ackers’s voice was in a more moderate 
key ; her anger was evidently subsiding. The 
bank teller quickly presented her with pen and 
book, and, wonderful as it seemed, she signed in 
one or two places without another word. Her 
money was given her with equal celerity, and her 
husband hurried her from the bank, the general 
shouting cheerfully after them. 


SPECIMEN NATIVES 43 

“ I’ll call for you at the Arcade in half an 
hour! ” 

“ Well, general,” said Mr. Collamore, “ thank 
you! You’ve saved my life for this time. Of 
course she’s money enough here besides those few 
hundreds from Cousin Abijah, which she can’t get 
without the deacon’s consent. He won’t give it, 
because he’s afraid she’ll invest it in some fool 
way. She always will see me and I have to go 
through this every time they go shopping to- 
gether.” 

“ All in the day’s work,” said the general cheer- 
fully. “ I shan’t have a very peaceful time, I 
guess, going back. She’ll scold about you all the 
way.” 

“ Oh, let her talk, as long as she’s going home,” 
said Mr. Collamore. “ I only hope the deacon 
won’t try to quiet her down. It always makes her 
worse.” 

“ We’ll let her run down by herself,” said the 
general. “ Why, how are you, Lottie and Em- 
mie.? Is this your cousin from England.? 
Blanche, how do you do .? ” 

Blanche bowed gracefully, and the party went 
out to the sidewalk, leaving the general inside to 
transact his own business. Mr. Gassett, who had 
concluded his talk with the doctor, prepared to go 
in, too. As he got out of the wagon, a stout 
young woman, somewhat strangely dressed, who 
had been walking down the street looking anx- 


44 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


iously about her, turned in at the doorway of the 
bank. The girls were trying to persuade Miss 
Eslin to take her turn in the wagon when the gen- 
eral came to the door. 

“ Can’t you girls speak French and German 
and all that.? ” he asked. ‘‘ Here’s a poor thing 
wants to deposit some money in the Savings Bank 
and they can’t get even her name out of her. I’ve 
been trying French, but I guess mine is a little 
rusty.” 

“ Oh, I’d love to talk to her,” said Charlotte 
readily, and all returned to where the poor foreign 
girl was the centre of a circle. She seemed to 
have divined that Mr. Collamore was the highest 
authority present, and held out to him a colored 
handkerchief in which some biUs and coins were 
wrapped up. 

“ Parlez-vous Frangais? ” asked Charlotte. 

The girl shook her head and looked bewildered. 

“ SprecJien Sie Deutsch? Why, she doesn’t 
speak either French or German. Emmie, can’t 
you talk Italian to her.? ” 

Emeline shook her head. She would have liked 
to help the poor stranger, but she dared not air 
her little school-learned Italian in such a company. 

“ Will you allow me to speak to her, sir.? ” said 
a quiet voice from behind, and Miss Eslin, who 
had been in the background, came forward. She 
spoke a few words in what appeared to all the oth- 
ers to he mere gibberish. The effect was wonder- 
ful. The stranger colored with pleasure and 


SPECIMEN NATIVES 45 

showed her white teeth as she answered with a 
smile. 

“ Please ask her what her name is and if she can 
write it in a book,” said Mr. Collamore. 

“ Her name is Katicza,” interpreted Miss Es- 
lin. “ Her last name I really could not catch. 
She wants to know if this is the right place for her 
to put her money, and if you will swear to take 
good care of it for her.” 

“ Tell her the Savings Bank is here and will 
take care of it well enough, if that’s all,” said Mr. 
Collamore. 

“ She seems a little doubtful, sir.” 

“ Tell her,” said the general with a smile, “ that, 
according to law, savings banks in Massachusetts* 
can only invest in public funds, railroad bonds, 
and loans on real estate.” 

“ I don’t believe I could tell her all that, but 
you think it would be safer for her to put it in 
the bank than to keep it herself.? ” 

The question, put in all gravity, caused a gen- 
eral smile, and the general laughed outright. 

“ Safer ! Why, of course it would be. Tell 
her not to go home and keep it in any old stock- 
ing the way these poor things insist on doing. 
She’ll be sure to be robbed of it. Tell her I keep 
my money here and this old gentleman does, too.” 

Mr. Gassett, when appealed to, corroborated 
the general’s statement. His age and white hairs 
appeared to make the desired impression on Ka- 
ticza, who gave up the contents of her handkerchief 


46 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


to the proper official. She could not write, but 
the formality of making her mark was soon dis- 
posed of, and she departed with a bankbook, 
which she was instructed, through her interpreter, 
to keep with the greatest care. 

Mr. Collamore expressed the gratitude of the 
bank staff and wished they could always have such 
a good interpreter. Miss Eslin received the praise 
of the company modestly and explained that while 
staying with an Austrian pupil in the country of 
Galicia, beyond the Carpathian Mountains, she 
had had an opportunity of learning the patois 
of the peasantry. 

“ I wonder,” she said, “ how a woman from that 
*part of Austria found her way here.” 

“ We get them from all over the world,” said 
Mr. Collamore. “ Very likely she works at the 
Sharpstone River mills, which employ a different 
set from the Gassetts. They have rather a mixed 
lot there and we’re always hearing of the trouble 
they are going to make us, but they work in like 
other people somehow or other.” 

Mr. Gassett departed with the three girls. Miss 
Eslin insisting that she enjoyed walking. 


CHAPTER V 


A LESSON IN HISTORY 

No one is superior to the pleasure of excelling 
the company in which one happens to be thrown, 
and Miss Eslin’s little triumph in knowing more 
than any one else atoned in some measure for her 
mortification of the morning and her failure then 
to have her own way. Miss Katherine, who had 
been looking forward with dread to the meeting 
at the early dinner, was much relieved when the 
household assembled in an apparently cheerful 
mood. Charlotte began to tell at once of the ad- 
ventures of the party in the village. She always 
had adventures wherever she went, and no girl 
ever had a greater faculty of finding common 
events interesting and amusing. She now gave 
Cousin Kate a lively description of Deacon Ackers 
and his wife, and poor foreign Katicza and her 
money. 

“ That general, I didn’t catch his name,” said 
Miss Eslin. 

“ General Rolby, he lives in Crossbrook, the 
next town to us,” said Miss Katherine. 

“ Ah, an Englishman, is he not ? ” 

“ Oh, no, he is an American.” 

47 


48 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ Why, Miss Eslin,” said Charlotte, in her 
rather free manner, “ would an Englishman say, 
‘ I guess,’ the way the general does ? ” 

“ Perhaps he is an Englishman who has lived 
for some time in America,” said Miss Eslin, who 
seemed determined to find a fellow countryman. 
“ I noticed he had a wound on his left hand.” 

“ He got that in the Civil War,” said Miss 
Katherine. 

It did not seem an amusing subject, but Miss Es- 
lin looked a little amused, though she tried to hide 
her smile. 

“ I’m glad he’s an Englishman by birth,” she 
said, trying to make her tone as courteous as 
possible, “ though you can’t be correct about bis 
history.” 

“ Oh, yes, he looks very young for his age. It 
is quite possible,” said Miss Kate, smiling her- 
self. 

Charlotte looked up with mischievous atten- 
tion. Blanche was quietly doing justice to her 
salmon and green peas. 

“ But,” said Miss Eslin, trying not to make her 
tone too instructive, remembering that Miss Gas- 
sett, though so ignorant, was older than herself, 
“ perhaps you don’t recall our English history. 
We have had plenty of wars in which he might 
have been wounded in the nineteenth century, but 
our civil wars were over, you know, in the middle 
of the seventeenth.” 

“ Of course I mean our American Civil War,” 


A LESSON IN HISTORY 49 

said Miss Kate, shaking her head at Charlotte, 
who began to choke dangerously. 

Miss Eslin looked utterly blank. 

“ Miss Eslin,” exclaimed Charlotte, gulping 
down her laugh, “ you don’t know how long the 
first settlers in America lived. You see, it gave 
them a new lease of life to come to a new country. 
General Rolby was a Parliamentary man, one of 
Ireton’s dragoons. He was wounded at the battle 
of Marston Moor, but after the Restoration he 
had to emigrate, and here at the battle of Slaugh- 
ter Hill — ” 

“ Be quiet, Lottie,” said her cousin. “ The 
children talk a good deal of nonsense. Miss Eslin ; 
you must excuse them.” 

“ Of course it couldn’t be,” said Miss Eslin, 
with an attempt to join in what seemed to her a 
far-fetched joke which struck Miss Kate as pa- 
thetic, for she was evidently bewildered ; “ but if 
this general were really a veteran of the civil wars, 
I should say he must have been a Cavalier ! ” 

“ Of course he couldn’t have been in the civil 
wars,” said Blanche, who was now listening to the 
conversation, “ it must have been something else. 
Perhaps it was the Indian Mutiny. You know, 
Miss Eslin, old Colonel Babson was in that.” ' 

“ Blanche Gassett ! ” exclaimed Charlotte, 
“ you’re the one that’s talking nonsense. Didn’t 
you ever hear of the American Civil War.? ” 

“ I am afraid she has not studied much Amer- 
ican history,” said Miss Eslin civilly. “ You are 


50 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


referring perhaps to some domestic disturbance 
which was of a more serious nature than that of 
last winter in which young Mr. Collamore served 
with some reserve forces — ” 

“ More serious ! You bet your life — ” began 
Charlotte in real earnest, but seeing her Cousin 
Kate’s look of extreme disapproval, her mood 
changed and after a glance at Miss Eslin and 
Blanche she hid her face in her napkin and burst 
at last into a laugh that was almost hysterical. 

Mr. Gassett, who had only caught a word or two 
of the conversation, looked up at the noise, but 
seeing that it was only Charlotte laughing, for- 
bore to ask to have the joke explained. The last 
time he had asked for the reason of a laugh it had 
been something about buttered toast. 

“ You had better leave the table if you can’t 
control yourself, Lottie,” said Miss Kate with 
unusual severity. Then to Miss Eslin, “ She 
sometimes does laugh in this way.” 

As she made this excuse, which might leave Miss 
Eslin to suppose Charlotte a really foolish girl. 
Miss Kate could hardly keep her own countenance 
straight, more especially as she was sure from 
another burst in the next room that Charlotte 
had overheard her. She was fortified by a look 
of sympathy from Emeline, who politely passed 
the salt to the governess. Both tried to talk of 
something else, but could think of no subject but 
the weather, which, since the arrival of the stran- 
gers, had been already discussed from every pos- 


A LESSON IN HISTORY 


51 


sible point of view. But it was impossible to get 
either Miss Eslin or Blanche to talk again and 
the atmosphere was painfully constrained for the 
rest of the meal. 

If Miss Eslin had not been musical, the even- 
ings would have been as stiff and awkward as the 
meal time meetings, but fortunately she was a fine 
performer and seemed glad to take refuge from 
the perils of conversation at the piano. She 
would play all the evening, and so well that Miss 
Kate, who was not musical herself, wished that 
she could give more discriminating praise. Miss 
Eslin was very obliging, too, in playing what was 
admired. Mr. Gassett having once listened when 
she played a loud Hungarian march, with plenty 
of action on the high keys, she repeated it every 
evening as soon as she saw him in the distance. 
Otherwise she never seemed to care who listened to 
her and would go on playing by herself by the 
hour. As for Blanche, her Aunt Kate, though 
she did not like to acknowledge it to herself, felt 
as the days went by a certain sense of disappoint- 
ment. Blanche was not responsive or observing. 
She never noticed the pretty little bouquets which 
her aunt placed every morning on her dressing ta- 
ble. “ Very likely,” thought Katherine, “ she 
thinks it is the maids; she has lived where every- 
thing of that kind has been done for her.” Nei- 
ther did Blanche ever notice that Charlotte 
and Emeline made their beds, kept their room 
in order, and did many of the various little tasks 


52 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


that are always to be found in a large house and 
garden in summer. 

“ I wish I knew what to do,” said Miss Kate 
one day when she was cutting the sweet peas in 
the kitchen garden with Charlotte and Emeline, 
an occupation which they would never have 
thought of asking their guests to share. “ I don’t 
feel as if I were acquainted with Blanche. She 
seems pleasant, quite affectionate when I speak 
to her, but she never volunteers anything. She 
needn’t treat me as if I were so very old.” 

“ I wouldn’t be troubled. Cousin Kate,” said 
Charlotte ; “ you don’t lose much by not hearing 
her conversation ! ” 

“ But she is friendly with you, isn’t she.? Don’t 
you get on well together ? ” 

“ I don’t think she’s in love with us. Cousin 
Kate ; she doesn’t appreciate us, in which she 
shows her bad taste. It can’t be our fault, for 
everyone in school just loved us. Miss Wilmarth 
and all the teachers, all the girls, the janitor and 
the scrubbing woman. I was the pride and Emmie 
the pet of the school. Blanche doesn’t know 
much, so we excuse her.” 

‘‘ But what does she talk about? What does 
she say to you, now, Emmie ? ” 

“ She says — she says — ” Emeline hesitated, 
racking her brains to think of what Blanche had 
ever said that was worth repeating. 

“ I’ll tell you what she says,” broke in Char- 


A LESSON IN HISTORY 


53 


lotte decidedly, “ she talks Roger Collamore, just 
like all the other girls.” 

Cousin Kate smiled. 

“ Well, that’s a safe subject.” 

“ I suppose so,” said Charlotte contemptuously. 
“ She never notices anything, not even a twenty- 
foot round elm, if Roger isn’t there to point it 
out to her. You know, Emmie, how she began 
to talk when he came round when we were in the 
village a week ago. You didn’t notice till I 
jogged you. It was just the same when he was 
here last night with Julia. Poor Rod ! He hoped 
he would have a little time with us while Julia 
talked to Blanche. But in two minutes it was 
‘ O Mr. ColLapiore ! ’ She didn’t think it any 
more worth while to talk to Julia than to us. 
Well, nobody can say that I can’t talk when I’m 
with other girls ! ” 

“ No, dear, nobody could,” said Cousin Kate, 
smiling, “ but I want you both to try to be friends 
with Blanche. I want her to like America. She 
may like attention; most girls do, but she is so 
quiet and dignified, I think she may have a good 
deal of character. Then I feel that she’s truth- 
ful. She won’t pretend to like us till she really 
does.” 

“ Yes, Cousin Kitty, I know she’s truthful. 
See how fair minded I am! Emmie, we’ve cut 
all on this side, let’s go to the village with those 
bundles for the express.” 


54 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ Ask Blanche to go with you,” said Cousin 
Kate, “ that is, if Miss Eslin is willing she should 
leave her reading.” 

Emeline would have been rather afraid to ask, 
but Charlotte, who took a fearful pleasure in 
bearding lions in their dens, knocked loudly at 
the schoolroom door. 

“ Hullo, Blanche ! ” she exclaimed, “ won’t you 
come along to the village with us.?^ David’s hoe- 
ing the corn and Emmie and I are going to send 
off these packages Cousin Kate’s been doing up 
for mother.” 

Blanche eagerly threw down the play of Schil- 
ler’s that she was reading with Miss Eslin and 
rang for Lowe, who was sewing in the next room, 
to bring her hat, gloves and parasol. Miss Eslin 
made no remonstrance ; she only asked in her dis- 
tant constrained voice, ‘‘ Does your aunt wish you 
to do some errand for her.? ” and seeing that 
Blanche was really bound for the village, gave her 
a letter to post, with many charges as to regis- 
tering it properly. 

“ That isn’t necessary at all,” said Charlotte 
somewhat impatiently. ‘‘ We never register let- 
ters unless they have money in them.” 

“ I will not trouble Blanche about it,” said 
Miss Eslin. “ I will post it myself this evening.” 

“ You needn’t do that ; the postman always 
takes ours when he comes. Give it to me, and I’ll 
put it in the hall.” 

But it was of no avail to argue with Miss Es- 


A LESSON IN HISTORY 


55 


lin on the subject of letters. She would seldom 
trust hers to any one, and when letters were given 
her always looked as if more were being with- 
held. 

“ Blanche,” said Charlotte, as the three girls 
walked along with their bundles, “ why don’t you 
talk to Uncle Jonathan and Cousin Kate.'^ ” 

“ I do talk to them.” 

“ Yes, but never unless they speak to you. 
Can’t you think of something to say ? ” 

“ One isn’t expected to talk first to older peo- 
ple,” said Blanche in her pretty voice, “ my aunt, 
Lady Dorwych, you know, used to come into the 
schoolroom every Saturday to see what Helena 
and I had done through the week, then she would 
talk to us. She didn’t expect us to speak first.” 

“ I guess she wanted to do all the talking her- 
self,” said Charlotte, with American irreverence. 

Blanche seemed mildly surprised by this obser- 
vation. 

“ Things are so different in America,” she said 
placidly. 

“ You ought to learn about them when you’re 
an American.” 

“ Oh, no,” said Blanche, now really showing 
some surprise and a little displeasure. 

“ Of course you’re an American. Your father, 
Cousin John, is an American citizen, so you must 
be American, too.” 

Blanche seemed not to take in this view of the 
subject. 


56 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ I was brought up an Englishwoman,” she said 
in her final manner. “ Isn’t this the shortest way 
to the village shops ? ” 

“ It isn’t the shortest way at all,” said Char- 
lotte, “ it leads past the Collamores’ house and 
Miss Marvin’s, though. Come along, Emmie ! ” 

“ I had rather go right to Mason’s office,” said 
Emeline, with one of her rare fits of self-assertion ; 
“ you and Blanche can go any way you like.” 

“We will go any way like,” said Blanche 
graciously. 

“ There’s no reason why we should all go to- 
gether,” said Charlotte ; “ we’ll meet you later, 
Emmie.” 

Emeline had waited for some time at the ex- 
press office when she was joined by Charlotte alone. 

“ Where’s Blanche ? ” she asked. 

“ I’ll tell you,” said Charlotte, with her con- 
tagious laugh, when they were in the street, “ she’s 
with Rod Collamore. Of course we met him com- 
ing from Miss Hope’s. We joined on to him and 
then I made myself scarce. They’ve gone to see 
the Corwins’ new tennis court. Well, what’s the 
matter.^ ” Charlotte was really surprised by her 
younger sister’s expression of disgust at “ join- 
ing on ” to anybody in that fashion. “ You see, 
I took pity on Blanche. Just think how little 
pleasure she’s had in life! I suppose she’s always 
been shut up in a schoolroom with Miss Eslin or 
some one just as bad. It won’t do any harm. 


A LESSON IN HISTORY 


57 


The Corwins have called on her all right. Rod’s 
the one I pity now, poor boy! He loves to be 
talked to and he’ll be hard worked.” 


CHAPTER VI 
AN UNCAGED BIRD 

The girls were in their room preparing for din- 
ner when there was a knock at the door and Miss 
Eslin appeared, as formal as ever, and yet, thought 
Emeline, who looked at her closely, more fright- 
ened than they were. 

“ I beg your pardon,” she said, “ but did not 
Blanche return with you.? ” 

“ No,” said Charlotte coolly, “ she’s gone off 
for a walk with Roger Collamore.” 

“ I don’t understand,” said Miss Eslin, hesitat- 
ing. “ Do you think she ought.? ” 

“ Oh, of course, everybody does it here.” 

“ Ah.? I beg your pardon,” repeated Miss Es- 
lin, “ I’m sorry I disturbed you.” 

She retreated to her room, and Emmie for one 
could not but be sorry for her. Blanche had not 
come back when they sat down to dinner. Mr. 
Gassett, who always noticed any one’s absence, 
asked where she was, and was perfectly satisfied 
with the answer in Charlotte’s shrill voice: 

“We left her walking in the village, sir. Roger 
Collamore asked her to go down to the Corwins’ 
tennis court.” 


58 


AN UNCAGED BIRD 


59 


The dinner was well advanced before Blanche 
appeared, looking as pretty as ever and unusually 
lively. 

“ I’m not at all hungry,” she said, as some of 
the first courses were brought back for her. “ I’ve 
been with Mr. Collamore, first to a pretty tennis 
court, and then to a chemist’s, a drug store, I 
think you call it, not the one we went to with 
Grandfather. We had some cold soda and choco- 
late sweetmeats.” 

Cousin Kate dared not look at Miss Eslin’s 
face, and asked no questions while Agda was wait- 
ing on the table. When the fruit was put on, 
and, according to family custom, Agda had re- 
tired, she asked as casually as possible, 

“ Did Roger ask you to have soda with him at 
the drug store? Harris’s, was it? ” 

“ I don’t think he spoke of it first,” said 
Blanche. “ I think it was his cousin whom he in- 
troduced to me and who went with us, Mr. Ben- 
ning.” 

“ Egbert Benning! ” exclaimed Charlotte. 
“ Has he come already ? ” 

“ I knew he was expected,” said Miss Kate. 
“ But, my dear, where did you have your soda? ” 

“ There was a bench at the front of the shop,” 
said Blanche. 

“ Did you have any money with you? ” asked 
Charlotte bluntly. 

“ No, but Mr. Benning said he’d give us an 
American treat. The soda was refreshing and 


60 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


he was very droll. He has been in England and 
travelled a good deal on the Continent.” 

Charlotte was so decidedly frowned upon by her 
cousin that she asked no more. Miss Kate said 
nothing, but shut her mouth with unusual deci- 
sion, and no sooner was dinner over than she fol- 
lowed Miss Eslin upstairs. 

“ Miss Eslin,” she said, “ I am sorry that 
Blanche went to the apothecary’s and was treated 
by those two boys, young men, perhaps you might 
call them. It was my fault, I suppose, for I 
proposed to the girls that they should ask her to 
walk with them. I do want Blanche to get ac- 
quainted with her cousins. But really it would 
not be considered the thing here, and nice girls 
don’t do so.” 

Miss Kate would have said more, had she not 
feared to give Miss Eslin a lower opinion of No- 
mono life than she had already. The truth was 
that Harris, the keeper of the shop, was under the 
disapproval of the better part of the community 
for violations of the temperance laws. The whole 
Gassett family showed their principles by never 
buying of him. His front bench was not consid- 
ered the most proper resort for young ladies, and 
it was mortifying to her aunt that Blanche should 
have gone straight to it the first time she was 
abroad without a relative. 

“ I do not feel that I have any influence over 
her,” said Miss Eslin, “ and I fear you cannot 
expect me to have authority when you have taken 


AN UNCAGED BIRD 61 

it away from me.” Though her tone was stiff it 
showed that she was deeply hurt. 

Miss Kate took a seat. 

“ Miss Eslin,” she said in a friendly tone, “ I 
know you are thinking of what happened when 
you first came, when my father wanted Blanche 
to drive with him. I am sorry I said what I did 
then, but how could I help it.? It is not as if I 
spoke for myself. My father is everything to me 
and it is my first object in life to make him happy. 
If you knew what he is to his family and to all the 
town, you would not wonder at me. Wouldn’t 
you stand up for your father in the same way.? ” 

Miss Eslin looked aside without speaking. 
Katherine’s arrow had hit the mark nearer than 
she realized. Miss Eslin had been a devoted 
daughter and had done far more for her father 
than Katherine had ever been required to do for 
hers. The late Captain Eslin had been a retired 
English army officer who had married a German 
lady, the daughter of a Lutheran clergyman. He 
had contrived, while leading an idle life on the 
Continent, to involve himself in debts which his 
daughter’s hard earned savings had gone in pay- 
ing. Katherine Gassett in all her life had had 
nothing but love and protection from her father, 
and, on her part, had never felt anything for him 
but love and pride. 

“ My father is dead,” said Miss Eslin at last. 
“ I am sorry, too, that I spoke as I did. I did 
not fully know then what the arrangements here 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


were. I understood from Lady Dorwych that I 
was to have the entire control.” 

“ If she told you that you were to have any in- 
dependent authority in my father’s house, I think 
she exceeded her powers.” 

“ She would be the first to say so,” said Miss 
Eslin, “ but when she spoke to me I do not think 
she quite understood the similarity of household 
arrangements in England and America. Believe 
me, I have always tried to conform to the rules 
of every house in which I have been an inmate, 
but when I had once said that I thought my Miss 
Gassett — ” 

“ Oh, call her ‘ Blanche,’ Miss Eslin,” inter- 
rupted Miss Kate, almost impatiently, “ don’t keep 
me so at arms’ length when our interests are the 
same ! ” 

“ When I had told Blanche,” said Miss Eslin, 
accepting the correction, “ that she ought not to 
go out, I thought all my authority would be gone 
if I did not insist. I am afraid it is gone and I 
do not understand what is allowed here. I sup- 
pose there is a friendly intimacy with Mr. Colla- 
more’s family.” 

‘‘ Yes, indeed, there is ! I played with Roger’s 
mother when I was a child. She was an older 
girl and very kind to me. I’m not afraid of 
Blanche going anywhere with Roger. He’s a 
lovely boy. Egbert is different.” 

Miss Eslin looked puzzled, though she listened 
civilly and attentively. The word “ lovely ” was 


AN UNCAGED BIRD 


63 


associated in her mind with physical beauty, not 
with a moral quality, as it usually is in America. 
“ Why,” she thought, “ should Miss Gassett be 
more willing to trust her niece with a handsome 
young man than with one who was plain.? ” On 
general principles the handsome man would seem 
the more dangerous, and Mr. Collamore, except 
for having a good figure, did not seem to her es- 
pecially good looking. 

“ I suppose some of our ways may seem strange 
to you,” added Katherine, seeing Miss Eslin’s 
perplexed expression, “ and we may be a little 
rough and easy going, but I trust when you know 
us better, and our friends too, that you will like 
us and find us really friendly. Now about 
Blanche, I will speak to her myself and try to sup- 
port your rightful authority. But you know she 
is not a child. You must let a girl of sixteen 
have some liberty. If we talk to her the right 
way, I am sure she will soon judge for herself as 
to what is proper.” 

“ She is sixteen, it is true,” said Miss Eslin, 
“ but she is hardly old enough to employ herself 
all day. All her regular reading and practising 
has been broken up. It is bad for her to be so 
unsettled. I can hardly get her to read for five 
minutes at a time.” 

“ I’m sorry,” said Katherine smiling, “ though, 
after all, wouldn’t it be rather absurd for a girl 
to cross the ocean to visit her grandfather and 
then spend her time when she got to him in prac- 


64 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


tising music and reading German, which she could 
do anywhere? Then we can’t expect our young 
folks to work much in our warm summers. But 
I don’t want Blanche to be unsettled. There’s 
no reason why she shouldn’t study some every day, 
and we will begin our summer reading. I was read- 
ing Motley with the girls last year, and we can 
go on with that, or begin at the beginning of it, 
or any other book you would like.” 

Though Katherine talked so valiantly of be- 
ginning her family readings, she had her secret 
doubts of how much could be really accomplished. 
She was fond of reading herself and loved to re- 
turn with her young cousins to her favorite his- 
tories, reading them aloud on the side piazza while 
the girls sewed or helped the cook by shelling peas 
or paring potatoes. An increase of her audience 
did not daunt her. She would go on reading of 
the siege of Leyden, or the landing of the Prince 
of Orange at Torbay, smiling indulgently when 
she saw from a corner of her eye that Roger Col- 
lamore and Charlotte were slyly pelting each 
other with peas, but she feared such little inter- 
ruptions would disconcert Miss Eslin. 

However, happy to find herself more in accord 
with the governess, she promised that Blanche’s 
morning hours should be undisturbed for the fu- 
ture unless her grandfather really wanted her, 
and the two ladies together made up an excellent 
time-table for the three girls. Miss Eslin gra- 


AN UNCAGED BIRD 


65 


ciously promised to include Charlotte and Erne- 
line in Blanche’s French and German readings, 
which would be “ a very great advantage to them,” 
as Miss Kate said warmly. The time-table with 
the hours of the day neatly arranged had a com- 
posing effect upon Miss Eslin. She had always 
been in a schoolroom, either as pupil or teacher, 
and knew not how to live except by rule. 

Blanche was talked to reasonably and kindly 
by her aunt and remonstrated with by Miss Eslin 
in the governess’s own manner, the result being 
that she sought refuge in her cousins’ room, some- 
what ruffled, but much prettier than usual. 

“ How is one to know what to do.?^ ” she asked. 
“ And I fancied it didn’t matter what one did in 
America.” 

“ You must learn by experience, Blanche,” said 
Charlotte, “ as they used to tell us when we were 
babies. Do anything you like, and then if people 
are terribly shocked you’ll know it’s improper.” 

“ Yes,” said Blanche seriously, “ you do all 
sorts of things one wouldn’t do at home. I don’t 
see how one can tell what is the proper thing.” 

“ Well, if you want to know what perfect ele- 
gance and dignity, combined with affability, are, 
watch Emmie and me when we are entertaining 
Rod Collamore. But don’t be too particular, 
or you may miss a great deal of pleasure. It 
would be perfectly proper, now, if Deacon Ackers 
offered to show you round the farm to accept his 


66 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


attentions, but you must avoid Mrs. Ackers and 
the short homed cow, for they are equally dan- 
gerous ! ” 

“You needn’t advise me to avoid that woman ! ” 
said Blanche, actually attempting something like 
a repartee. 

Emmie, who really thought it would be better 
to try to explain a little seriously to Blanche, but 
who didn’t expect that Charlotte would give her a 
chance, broke in nervously, 

“ Roger’s all right, but you can’t believe all 
Egbert Benning says — ” 

“ No,” said Charlotte, “ Egbert is a fascinating 
villain. I guess it was he who proposed going to 
Harris’s. Roger would have had more sense.” 

“ Yes,” admitted Blanche, “ it was Mr. Ben- 
ning.” 

“ You needn’t be so formal. It wouldn’t be at 
all improper for you to call them Rod and Bertie. 
And, if you don’t want to call Roger ‘ Rod,’ you 
could call him ‘ Father William.’ That’s what 
the boys call him because he’s so steady and can 
turn back somersaults, too, like the Father Wil- 
liam in ‘ Alice in Wonderland.’ His middle name 
is William, you know, ‘ Roger William Colla- 
more.’ It sounds queer, of course, not to have it 
‘ Roger Williams,’ but it isn’t, it’s ‘ Roger Wil- 
liam.’ ” 

Blanche had never heard of Roger Williams, but 
as Charlotte had before noticed, she was too truth- 
ful to pretend to know anything she didn’t. She 


AN UNCAGED BIRD 67 

did not even smile an assent, so Charlotte went 
on : 

“ You can call them anything you like, for 
they’re your cousins. They’re descended from 
Major Huckins, just as we are. We are de- 
scended from his fourth son, Pelatiah, who mar- 
ried Mehitable Pyncheon, while they are descended 
from his oldest daughter. Experience.” 

“ I don’t think it’s just that way,” began Em- 
mie. 

“ Emmie, I know all about it ! Experience 
Huckins married Jeduthun Swett, Rod’s great- 
great-grandfather. You ought to know all about 
it, Blanche. It’s just as important as knowing 
all about the Percys and Howards and all those 
people when you’re in England.” 

Charlotte was correct enough in essentials, and 
she might have added that almost everyone of the 
old English stock in that part of Massachusetts 
was descended from Major Huckins, that grim 
hero of Colonial times having been the father of 
fourteen children, most of whom had in turn left 
large families. 

“ But I don’t know all about the Percys and 
Howards,” objected Blanche, “ we leave those 
things, you know, to the people who get up Peer- 
age books. I was going to tell you that he’s com- 
ing here, Mr. Penning or Egbert. He walked 
back with me after Mr. Collamore went home. 
He said he’d call tomorrow and bring some cig- 
arettes and teach us to smoke them.” 


68 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ Blanche Gassett ! ” exclaimed Charlotte, too 
shocked for once to be amused, “ if Egbert Ben- 
ning said that we’ll tell his grandmother and she’ll 
put him to bed without his supper. Teach us 
to smoke, indeed ! I’ll give him a piece of my mind 
when I meet him. I don’t mind speaking to Eg- 
bert Benning.” 

“ But — but a great many ladies in England 
smoke cigarettes now,” said Blanche. 

“They don’t in Nomono, at any rate, and all 
men don’t smoke either. Uncle Jonathan doesn’t 
and Roger Collamore — ” 

“ I don’t see why it’s so shocking,” persisted 
Blanche. “ A Mrs. Charteris, who is thought 
very smart, smoked when she was visiting at Wych- 
stone. My aunt didn’t approve, but she said one 
couldn’t set too high a standard for all one’s vis- 
itors.” 

“ Well, if Lady Dorwych can’t keep her visitors 
from smoking, I can tell you that Uncle Jonathan 
could and would keep you.” 

Blanche was for the moment quite overwhelmed 
by Charlotte and was obliged to dress for supper 
under the disapproval of all the feminine side of 
the family. Not till seated by her grandfather 
at the table did she recover her usual composure. 

Meanwhile poor Miss Kate had some difficulty 
in bringing the cousins to consent to their share of 
the scheme of improvement. 

“ Why, Cousin Kate,” exclaimed Charlotte, 
“ who ever heard of studying in summer.? It 


AN UNCAGED BIRD 


69 


isn’t as if we had anything to make up. Weren’t 
you proud that we did so well.? Miss Wilmarth 
told me that she hoped we’d get a good rest this 
summer, and that my little sister (she will 
think Emmie is delicate) wouldn’t even open a 
book. English girls, poor things! have to study 
all the time. You know in books they always have 
holiday governesses when the real governess is 
away, but why should we import such a dreadful 
custom ? ” 

“ Now, Lottie, darling, it’s only for a little 
time in the morning, and you can do exactly as 
you please all the rest of the day. Roger will be 
studying, too, you know, and it will be much bet- 
ter for you to be quiet in the house than outdoors 
at noon time while it’s so warm.” 

“ No, Cousin Kate, you can’t make me feel that 
way. I’d rather be playing tennis when the ther- 
mometer was ninety than be studying German with 
Miss Eslin. I hope she has reserved a little time 
in her plan of the day to study American history 
herself!” 

“ But you are to have your afternoons for ‘ re- 
laxation,’ my dears,” said Cousin Kate, half 
amused as she quoted Miss Eslin’s expression, ‘‘ I 
stipulated for that. Now be good and encourage 
Blanche, won’t you.? We must have Miss Eslin 
here this summer and we don’t want her sitting all 
day in her room by herself, feeling hurt and doing 
nothing. I hate to have any one unhappy in the 
house ! ” 


70 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ You’re a dear, Cousin Kitty,” said Charlotte, 
kissing her cousin. “We hate it, but we’ll do it 
to please you, won’t we, Emmie.? Just to please 
you, you know.” 

“ That’s right, darlings, and I’ll write to your 
mother that you’re the best girls in the world.” 


CHAPTER VII 


PERILS PAST AND PRESENT 

The next morning, after a convent-like airing 
in the garden, Blanche went dutifully to her les- 
sons, and was joined at the proper time in the 
schoolroom by her cousins. Everything seemed 
to be going on so beautifully that Miss Kate dared 
not peep in to look, and went downstairs to the 
porch. But her fear of interruptions was only 
too well founded. She was just seated at her 
work when a carryall drove up containing two 
elderly ladies on the back seat, a younger one in 
front, with a young man for the driver. The lat- 
ter jumped out first and proved to be the danger- 
ous and fascinating Egbert Benning, with his aunt, 
Mrs. Collamore. She was a blooming, young- 
looking woman, who jumped lightly out herself, 
then helped her mother, Mrs. Benning, to alight 
from the back seat. Then all present helped out 
a still older lady, who was no less a person than 
Mrs. Greenwood, the great-grandmother of Roger 
and Egbert. 

Mrs. Benning explained that as the day was fine 
and Egbert could drive them, Roger being at 
study with Miss Hope, they thought they would 

71 


72 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


give “ Great-mamma ” an airing and drive round 
for a call, hoping to see their old friend’s English 
granddaughter. Here was an interruption in- 
deed ! Mrs. Collamore would easily have under- 
stood had it been explained to her that the girls 
were to keep strictly to their morning study hours ; 
even Mrs. Benning might have been put off, but to 
refuse anything to Mrs. Greenwood was impossi- 
ble. Yet Katherine would have faced a hostile 
battery sooner than Miss Eslin in the schoolroom. 
She left the company and departed to produce 
Blanche, peeping into the kitchen on her way to 
gain a little time. There was Lowe, taking a 
morning cup of tea. 

“ Ah, Lowe,” began Miss Kate ; then suddenly, 
“ would you mind if I called you by your Chris- 
tian name.? I think it has a pleasanter sound 
than to use the surname.” 

“ Yes, ma’am, my name is Mabel.” 

“ That’s a very pretty old English name. I’d 
always be called by it. Well, Mabel, please ask 
Miss Eslin and the young ladies if they’ll come 
downstairs. A very old lady, Mr. Collamore’s 
great-grandmother, is here, and wishes to see Miss 
Blanche.” 

“ Yes, ma’am.” 

And Mabel went upstairs while Katherine re- 
turned to the parlor and boldly promised that the 
girls should all appear immediately. The com- 
pany were in no hurry for them. There was a 


PERILS PAST AND PRESENT 73 


cheerful conversation in which Mrs. Greenwood 
was the principal speaker. 

“ It is so bright,” she said, “ I can really see 
little Blanche. I hear her manners are as pretty 
as her face. But they can’t be much better than 
my young people’s manners. They are really too 
proper sometimes. Roger will listen to the same 
story over and over again, but he’s truthful and 
when I ask him if he’s heard it before, he says, 
‘ Yes, Great-mamma, but I’d just as lief hear it 
again all right.’ Egbert is still worse. He not 
only listens to my stories, but insists that they 
are perfectly new to him, so there is nothing to 
prevent my inflicting them on my friends forever. 
Young people now-a-days have too good man- 
ners.” 

“ That is impossible for the present company,” 
said a grave masculine voice, and Egbert, who 
had been caring for their equipage, entered the 
room, with a little bow that was both courtly and 
comic. He was a nice looking young fellow to 
whom a tall, spare figure and a pair of large spec- 
tacles gave a deceptive air of studious propriety. 

“ Bertie,” said his Aunt Clara, “ what piece of 
mischief are you now concocting.^ ” 

Poor Katherine joined but half-heartedly in 
the laugh. She had a fearful doubt that Miss Es- 
lin might find some means of keeping her pupil 
upstairs, and that she would perhaps regard the 
“ very old lady ” as a ruse. But to her great re- 


74 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


lief the three girls did appear, Charlotte and Erne- 
line insisting that Blanche should keep in front of 
them. 

Blanche was by no means eager to show herself. 
She had not expected that on coming to such a 
new country as she considered America she would 
be expected to entertain an increasing circle of 
old people. It was rather embarrassing, certainly, 
to be the centre of observation and be looked at 
all over, for Mrs. Greenwood was determined to 
see all she could, and made Blanche sit in front of 
her in a strong light, which, shining on the girl’s 
bright auburn hair, made it really golden. 
Blanche was too well trained not to behave with 
propriety and was probably set down by Mrs. 
Greenwood as one of the too well mannered young 
people of the present times. When Blanche had 
escaped, as soon as possible, the old lady had a 
word or two for Charlotte, while Emeline kept by 
her sister, rising and sitting at the right times, 
but silent. As usual in company, she appeared 
merely to make out the pair of the “ two Gassett 
girls.” 

Miss Eslin did not appear till dinner time, and 
Katherine dared not ask if the interrupted stud- 
ies had been completed. She hoped the usual 
stiff and constrained manner of the governess did 
not imply any especial reproach. The girls had 
not the slightest intention of making up any de- 
ficiency in their morning’s work. Blanche waited 


PERILS PAST AND PRESENT 75 

till Miss Eslin had retreated upstairs and then 
said, 

“ Aunt Kate, mayn’t we all walk up to the Mur- 
der Mountain this afternoon? Egbert asked us 
this morning if we wouldn’t all go. Roger can 
go, too, for his studies will be over.” 

“ I’ve no objection, my dear, only you’d better 
ask Miss Eslin to go with you. She would enjoy 
the walk this lovely day, and I must drive out with 
your grandfather. He wants to go all the way 
to Crossbrook.” 

Katherine was soon off. She dared not trust 
her father to drive himself any distance on the 
state highway without her company. She was 
sure that she was the only one who would keep a 
sharp enough lookout for the automobiles he might 
not hear. 

“ Go ask Miss Eslin, Blanche. We’ve got to 
have her, I suppose,” said Charlotte. 

“ Let us wait a bit, then she may be taking her 
nap,” said Blanche hopefully. 

“ Why does she want to take naps all the time ? ” 
asked Charlotte, who looked as usual particularly 
wide awake. 

“ I don’t know ; she says she doesn’t sleep well 
here nights.” 

“ I shouldn’t think she would, or your Lowe 
either, they take so much strong tea.” 

Egbert and Roger now appeared. 

“ We’ve got to ask Miss Eslin if she won’t go 


76 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


with us,” said Charlotte, with uncompromising 
truthfulness. “ She hates to go and we hate to 
have her, but we must, because Cousin Kate said 
so.” 

“ All right,” said Egbert. “ I’ll walk ahead 
with you three and Father William can go behind 
with her. He’s accustomed to governesses, with 
Miss Hope every day.” 

“ Oh, shut up. Rotten Eggs ! ” said Roger Wil- 
liam cheerfully. 

Emmie was afraid that this nickname, applied 
by some of the Nomono boys to the elegant Eg- 
bert in the days of his childhood, would shock 
Blanche, but when American young men were con- 
cerned Blanche appeared absolutely incapable of 
being shocked. 

“ No,” said Charlotte, “ I’ve something to say 
to you, Egbert, and I’ll walk with you. We think 
Miss Eslin may be asleep. You go up very softly, 
Emmie, and see if she isn’t.” 

Emmie did as she was told. She had long ago 
got over her first resentment against Miss Eslin, 
and thought that she might not be such a trying 
companion for a long walk. At any rate she 
couldn’t help being a governess. As far as good 
looks went, thought Emmie, she could give points 
to them all. The three girls had the good looks of 
youth and freshness, and Blanche’s brilliant color- 
ing made her noticeable in any crowd ; but Miss 
Eslin, besides a magnificent pair of eyes, had reg- 
ular features and a beautiful olive complexion. 


PERILS PAST AND PRESENT 77 


Perhaps the girls had hardly judgment enough 
to appreciate her real beauty, especially as she 
looked much older than they, older than she really 
was, though Charlotte so far agreed with Erne- 
line as to own that Miss Eslin would look quite 
decent if she wouldn’t crimp her hair and look as 
if she’d lost her last friend in the world. 

Emeline tapped softly on the door of Miss Es- 
lin’s room; then, as there was no answer and she 
wished to be sure of the inmate’s nap, opened it 
softly. As she did so, a draught of air slammed 
to the door which had been left ajar into Blanche’s 
room beyond. Miss Eslin, who was lying on the 
sofa, started up nervously with a little scream. 

“ I beg your pardon,” said Emmie, quite fright- 
ened, “ I didn’t mean — ” 

“ No matter,” said Miss Eslin, controlling her- 
self, “ I was only dreaming.” 

But Emmie noticed that she caught her hand on 
her heart and was trembling all over. 

“ Aren’t you well ? ” she asked timidly. 

“ Oh, yes, perfectly well, there’s nothing the 
matter. I didn’t sleep very well last night. 
It’s so quiet here. I like to take little naps in the 
day time when I can hear the noises round the 
house. So you see I don’t mind noises,” she ended 
with a little forced smile. 

All this seemed very strange to Emeline and 
with unusual persistency she said, 

“ Don’t you want to see Dr. Arlow.?^ ” 

“ A doctor.? Oh, no, I don’t need a doctor. 


78 A SUMMER SIEGE 

All I need is to rest and forget — some things.” 

Emeline stood awkwardly holding the door 
open. 

“We mean to make you happy,” she said sim- 
ply. “ I’m sure Cousin Kate does and we all 
do.” 

“ Thank you, dear,” said Miss Eslin, “ come in.” 

Emmie came in and shut the door. 

“ Don’t tell any one if I’m foolish. I maist 
keep up for my mother’s sake. She is an invalid 
and has no support but me.” The pitying look 
in Emmie’s soft eyes drew Miss Eslin on to speak 
against her will,. She continued slowly, “ I’ve 
been through a good deal that I wouldn’t like to 
speak of. Before I came to Blanche, some years 
ago, I lived with a family of wealthy Hebrews, 
Jews, you know, the Hallheims, in Vienna. I did 
not like to take the place, but I wanted to be 
nearer to my mother, who cannot bear the English 
climate. I had a large salary there and they were 
very good to me. I’ve nothing to complain of 
them.” 

There seemed nothing frightful in this, yet 
Miss Eslin’s manner really frightened Emeline, 
who sat perfectly still. 

“ I was asked to take my pupil, Amelie,” con- 
tinued Miss Eslin, “ to visit her grandparents 
who lived in Grodno, in Russia. I felt it was im- 
prudent to go there when the Jews were so hated. 
I had been in Russia before and could speak the 
language. I read all the papers I could and ob- 


PERILS PAST AND PRESENT 79 


served for myself, and I was sure something terri- 
ble was being planned around us. I begged the 
family to leave, to go when they could, but they 
would not listen to me. Finally I said I must 
take my pupil back. The old people did not want 
us to go, but I insisted. We went, and that very 
night, they, all who stayed, were killed, every one 
in the house.” 

“ How dreadful ! ” exclaimed Emeline. 

“ Yes, it was. I can’t tell how Amelie and I 
got safely through Poland to Austria. Some 
other Jewish refugees came with us. The massa- 
cres in Bialystok and other places were just be- 
ginning. We couldn’t avoid some frightful 
sights. I can’t talk about it. Then they said 
Amelie needed a complete change and a warmer 
climate and sent us to some of their friends in Por- 
tugal. All seemed right there for a while, then 
I felt again that something was going to happen, 
something different. I knew what it was when the 
King and Crown Prince were murdered and the rev- 
olution began. It was bad, but not like what I 
saw in Russia. I was brought up on the Conti- 
nent, but I always felt more safe in England than 
anywhere else, and though it was inconvenient and 
expensive I joined my mother and we went to Lon- 
don. But she was taken ill there and my money 
would not last. I had an introduction to Lord 
Dorwych, Blanche’s uncle, you know, who has 
been in the British Foreign Office. He wanted 
me to tell him all I had seen and was very kind to 


80 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


me. He recommended me for this situation. I 
thought perhaps coming to a new country would 
be good for me. I ought to get over the past, 
but I’m not quite cured yet.” 

Emmie drew nearer and slipped her hand into 
Miss Eslin’s. 

“ Thank you, dear,” said Miss Eslin, “ I have 
not told Blanche anything about this. She is 
young and I don’t wish to sadden her. I should 
not have told you either, but you seem so quiet and 
discreet, I know it won’t do any harm to tell 
you.” 

“ You must rest,” said Emeline. “ Is there 
anything I could get for you.? No.? I was go- 
ing to ask if you would walk with us, and Egbert 
and Roger up — up — ” thinking that the ugly 
name of “ Slaughter Hill ” might have an unpleas- 
ant sound, she changed it, “ to Crystal Rock. 
Would you mind if we went.? ” 

“ Oh, no, not if your cousin approves. At first 
I was afraid to have Blanche out of my sight, 
her aunt. Lady Dorwych, gave her to my care so 
solemnly. But perhaps my anxiety was unrea- 
sonable. I know your cousin thought it so.” 

Emeline had said good-bye and was on the 
stairs when another thought came to her. She 
hesitated a moment, unused as she was to act on 
her own responsibility, then suddenly gathering 
courage she went back. 

“ Please, Miss Eslin,” she said, “ I’ve thought 
of a plan. If you don’t want to be alone at night, 


PERILS PAST AND PRESENT 81 


let me come and sleep in your room. I could 
have my bed, it’s a light one, moved in and put 
close up to yours, and I sleep so sound I shouldn’t 
mind at all if you took hold of my hand.” 

“ Thank you, dear child,” said Miss Eslin. 
“ No, I won’t be so foolish. I wouldn’t have you 
leave your sister, but I am very glad you are here 
in the house. You remind me of my first dear 
pupil. Lady Aurora Leicester. It was with her 
that I first went to Russia when her father was 
English ambassador at St. Petersburg. She was 
his only daughter and he could not bear to be 
separated from her. I learned the language, as 
I always do wherever I am, but I only saw then the 
luxurious, aristocratic side of Russian life. I felt 
all the time there was another side, but never ex- 
pected to see it. I took the utmost care of Au- 
rora, everyone did, but it seems as if some ill for- 
tune always follows me and those I am with. 
When we returned to England, in beautiful Der- 
byshire, she was killed by our motor car being 
overturned.” 

“ Was she.? ” asked Emeline sympathetically. 
“ Do Lottie and I look like her.? ” 

“ She was not at all like your sister,” said Miss 
Eslin decidedly, “ and I can’t say that you exactly 
resemble her in looks. It is in a certain air, 
manner and expression. Aurora had an air of 
high breeding, and at the same time was so gentle 
and sympathetic, so anmuthigy as we say in Ger- 
many.” 




A SUMMER SIEGE 


Emeline did not feel so very much complimented, 
for she could not believe that she had an air of 
any kind that was not shared by Charlotte. She 
again hade Miss Eslin good-bye and hastened 
downstairs. 

“ Emmie ! ” exclaimed Charlotte, “ where have 
you been.?^ Couldn’t you get away before.? There 
have Bertie and Blanche walked on, when I par- 
ticularly wanted to talk with him ! Roger and I 
waited for you. We must hurry ! ” And hurry 
they all did out of the house. “ I dare say Bertie 
was afraid of what I was going to say to him,” 
continued Charlotte. “ Roger William, how 
could you let Blanche go with you to Harris’s to 
take a public iced soda and you pay for it yester- 
day.? Cousin Kate was dreadfully mad about it.” 

“ I’d like to see her dreadfully mad ! ” 

“ Well, she didn’t like it at all, and of course it 
would give Miss Eslin an excuse to be just as nasty 
as she can be to Blanche.” 

“ Why, Lottie,” said Roger seriously, “ I 
didn’t want her to go there, but I couldn’t argue it 
out before her when Rotten Eggs said he’d treat 
us. I thought I’d better go along, too. It would 
be better if there were three of us.” 

“ It’s awful good of you, Rod, to act as a chap- 
eron, but if you’re going to chaperon Blanche, 
you’ll have your hands full. I suppose you didn’t 
hear Egbert telling her he’d teach her to smoke 
cigarettes .? ” 

“Just like Rotten Eggs!” said Roger resign- 


PERILS PAST AND PRESENT 83 


edly. “ But I guess the old lady, the governess, 
can look after that. What’s she for, anyway ? ” 

“ But we don’t want her. It’s an awful bother 
to look after Blanche, but it’s still worse to have 
Miss Eslin around. It makes it so different from 
last year! How did you manage, Emmie, so she 
didn’t come now? ” 

“ I didn’t manage ; she was lying down, trying 
to sleep. Lottie, she can’t sleep at night because 
she’s been in Russia and the family she was with 
were all killed, all but the girl she taught. And 
then she was in Portugal when they had the revo- 
lution. She thinks she has bad luck everywhere.” 

Emeline did not feel that she had made any 
promise not to speak of these terrors to Charlotte 
and Roger, from whom she had no secrets. There 
was no disgrace in being killed, and what could be 
the harm of telling of murders in Russia, where 
ever^mne knew they happened all the time? 

“ But we mustn’t tell Blanche anything,” she 
added. “ Miss Eslin doesn’t want her to know. 
She doesn’t want to sadden her.” 

“ Sadden her ! It would take more than those 
old stories to sadden Blanche. But I thought 
Miss Eslin had been a governess in England.” 

“ Oh, that was before. She was governess to a 
Lady Aurora Something who was like us. Miss 
Eslin was very fond of her, but she was killed by 
an auto upsetting.” 

“ Emmie I ” exclaimed Charlotte, suddenly 
standing still, “ don’t you see the joke? ” 


84 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ Perhaps there isn’t one,” said Roger, seeing 
that Emeline looked disconcerted. 

“ Why, yes, don’t you see what a really dread- 
fully unlucky person Miss Eslin is ? Her first pu- 
pil is killed in an accident, and the next nearly gets 
killed in Russia, then she’s in a revolution. Per- 
haps something worse still will happen to the next 
people. We ought to be careful, Emmie ! ” 

“ Well, if anything is going to happen,” said 
Roger, “ it won’t happen to Emmie, who isn’t her 
pupil and needn’t have anything to do with her. 
It will all happen to Blanche.” 

“ Yes,” said Charlotte, with her merry little 
laugh, “ there’s a terrible fate hanging over 
Blanche. We ought to catch up with her now.” 

Roger seemed quite indifferent to the fate in 
store for Blanche and strolled on in a leisurely 
way. 

“ We’ve got to look after her,” said Charlotte. 
“ There’s a lot of sweet-fern growing up on the 
mountain. Rod, can people learn to smoke by 
beginning with sweet-fern cigars ? ” 

“ I don’t know,” said Roger innocently. 

“ Well, let’s hurry. Emmie and I don’t have 
much peace. 

“ * My sister Emeline and I 

Together chased the butterfly.’ 

Blanche is the butterfly now. You don’t know, 
Rod, who wrote that beautiful poetry. You think 
I made it up, and it was a great poet.” 


CHAPTER VIII 
RIVAL HEROINES 

In the evening Blanche, who now found her way 
at all hours to her cousins’ rooms, escaped there 
from governess and maid. 

“ Lottie ! ” she exclaimed in almost an American 
manner, but with her own little air, “ aren’t you 
real mean.'^ You made Egbert walk all the way 
home with you. He wanted to go with me, I 
know.” 

“ I dare say he did,” said Charlotte coolly. 
“ He was afraid of me. He knew he’d get a scold- 
ing and he did.” She tried to look as severe as 
possible, while her mobile little mouth was already 
twitching into a smile. “ It isn’t considered 
proper, Blanche, in America, for a girl to seize 
upon one man all the time, and I left you Roger, 
who is a great deal more important person.” 

“ I don’t know why he should be. His family 
must be the same if they’re cousins; I don’t be- 
lieve they’re as well off as Egbert’s, and I’m sure 
Egbert is a great deal cleverer. I like his name. 
‘ Bertie ’ sounds silly.” 

“ He is clever, but dangerous, Blanche. I had 

a serious talk with him this time.” 

85 


86 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ You didn’t seem serious. We heard you 
laughing all the way,” said the unappeased 
Blanche. “ Weren’t they laughing, Emmie ” 

Emmie said nothing. She had not had a pleas- 
ant time herself. She would have enjoyed a quiet 
talk with Roger. When they were alone he would 
talk with her quite seriously, in a very different 
manner from his usual way with Charlotte, but 
with Blanche as a third party, and in a discom 
tented mood, it hadn’t been at all agreeable. 
Blanche hadn’t paid the slightest attention to the 
points in the view and the old battle ground which 
Emmie had tried to point out. But poor Emmie 
was only fifteen, and nobody thought it of any 
importance with whom she walked. 

“We laughed some,” admitted Charlotte, “ be- 
cause I have such a fatal weakness for hilarity, 
as our teacher in Boston, Miss Wilmarth, says. 
But about Egbert and Roger, if you had what the 
heroine in that old book Cousin Kate read to us 
called a ‘ well regulated mind,’ you would appre- 
ciate Roger’s solid qualities. Yes, he is very 
solid, Blanche. But that isn’t all. Roger is — 
he’s an all round athlete. Do you think that boys 
in America who have a double right to an ‘ H ’ 
on their sweaters grow on every bush.? You’re 
mistaken if you do. Harvard is the best college 
in America or in the civilized world, and it couldn’t 
give any higher honor than what Roger has.” 

“ He may have ‘ H’s ’ on his sweaters,” said 
Blanche, “ though how he can want to wear such 


RIVAL HEROINES 


87 


things in this weather I can’t imagine, but he’s 
never been abroad and he can’t talk like Egbert.” 

“ Why do you always want people to talk to 
you.? I like to talk to people. I could say some- 
thing to the Pope, I know, if I were introduced to 
him, and as for the President, I’d have lots to say 
to him. I think I must be the typical American 
girl.” 

“ I like to have men talk to me,” said Blanche a 
little proudly. 

“ You do, indeed,” said Charlotte dryly. 

“ But I don’t see,” said Blanche, ignoring this 
thrust, “ why you shouldn’t let the men, boys, 
you call them, do as they like. Why need you 
always arrange for us, Lottie.? You’re no older 
than I am, and in some ways you’re younger than 
girls in England are. Of course we don’t go into 
society so young, but we study more than you do, 
and no girl of Emmie’s age in England would play 
with a baby-house the way she does. Such queer 
things in it, too ! No matter, Emmie, I didn’t 
mean anything.” 

“ Do you think — ” began Charlotte, but this 
time it was Emmie’s turn to gesticulate and make 
frantic signs to her sister. Her distress was so 
evident that Charlotte, taking pity on her, yawned 
and, complaining of being sleepy, turned Blanche 
back into her own room, where Lowe had been 
waiting for her for some time. 

“ Don’t you tell her ! ” exclaimed poor Emmie 
in terror. 


88 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“Why not? Why should she think us fools 
when we’re not? Study indeed! She doesn’t be- 
gin to know how we studied last winter! But it 
will be our own fault, when there are two of us, if 
she and Miss Eslin think we don’t know anything. 
We can talk about each other. I can tell how you 
got ninety per cent, in your mathematics and his- 
tory exams, and you can tell everybody how high 
I was marked in Latin and French, and how my 
thesis was praised.” 

“ O Lottie ! ” said Emmie. 

This was her usual form of appeal. Though 
she had shared her sister’s room and been with her 
constantly ever since she was born, she never could 
tell with any certainty when Charlotte was in 
jest and when in earnest. She continued anx- 
iously, 

“ You won’t tell her, will you? ” 

“ No ; but if I did, she’d forget all about it the 
next moment. She doesn’t care a bit about such 
things. You see what she wants. She seemed at 
first to want Roger to talk to her all the time ; now 
she finds Egbert can talk three times as much 
she wants him. I know he’ll tell her lots that isn’t 
so ; I found out from him that he’d been giving 
her thrilling descriptions of his going out with 
Battery X last winter and how he charged with 
bayonets through the streets of Beckborough. 
I suppose he made out that he wasn’t boasting and 
wouldn’t tell anybody but her. If she swallows 
it all, it’s her own fault. I’ve warned her once 


RIVAL HEROINES 89 

about him and that’s enough. But you needn’t 
worry about yourself, Emmie.” 

Emeline drew a long breath of relief. Those 
who thought her merely a quieter Charlotte, a 
double of her sister in mind as well as in looks, 
knew very little about her. She had decided 
tastes of her own, tastes which she had shown 
very early. Her fondness for the past had led 
her when a tiny child to visit the old Nomono 
burying-ground and try to make out the inscrip- 
tions on the gravestones, a somewhat uncanny 
taste which had early excited Charlotte’s ridicule. 
On one of their first visits to Nomono as small 
children Roger Collamore had been sent by his 
mother to play with the little girls, and had wel- 
comed them with his usual broad and friendly 
smile. As Charlotte had a bad cold, it fell to 
Emeline to entertain their guest, and she had pro- 
posed that they should visit the graveyard and see 
if any children as small as they were buried there. 
Roger thought this a charming and original game. 
He procured a piece of paper, sharpened a pencil, 
and after an hour’s absence brought Emmie back 
and proudly showed Miss Kate a list they had 
compiled of little Nomono children who had de- 
parted early from this life. 

Cousin Kate had been really alarmed. She 
feared that such a taste for the tombs showed that 
Emeline, always a fragile looking, ethereal little 
creature, was not long for this world; but this 
taste, like her fragile look, was deceptive, and 


90 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


might have given those who did not know Emmie 
well a totally wrong impression. She really was 
not a morbid girl and enjoyed life as much as any- 
body. 

It would have been hard to tell when she had be- 
gun to work upon her museum, but she had been 
for some years collecting the treasures which she 
kept on the shelves of a cupboard, mistaken by 
Blanche for a baby-house. Some of them were 
really valuable, judged even by the low standard 
of money. The real Lincoln letter, always kept 
in three envelopes, was a very valuable autograph. 
It had been written to Uncle Jonathan in the 
War years when Mr. Gassett had been active in 
the Sanitary Commission. Charlotte, good-na- 
tured, though always laughing at her sister, had 
told General Rolby of the museum and procured 
for it two old swords, a Union and a Confederate 
one, and Emmie had picked up for herself some old 
Indian curiosities and other relics of pre-Revo- 
lutionary times. 

Emmie was accustomed to amusing Charlotte 
with her strange tastes, but she dreaded the ridi- 
cule of strangers. The idea of her precious rel- 
ics being inspected by such an unsympathetic per- 
son as Blanche was terrible to her. Before she 
went to bed she carefully arranged her treasures, 
locked them up, put the key in a safe place, and 
resolved not to visit them again for the present. 

The next morning when she met Miss Eslin on 
the stairs, she ventured to ask softly. 


RIVAL HEROINES 


91 


“ Did you sleep better last night? ” 

“ Much better, my dear,” said Miss Eslin affec- 
tionately ; and she really looked brighter and more 
cheerful. 

Nothing happened next day to interrupt the 
morning work, but when Charlotte and Emeline 
came downstairs after the French and German 
reading, leaving Blanche to her music lesson, they 
found Cousin Kate on guard, and heard that Eg- 
bert had been calling, but had been requested not 
to come in the morning for the future. It re- 
mained a mystery whether or not he had had ciga- 
rettes concealed in his pocket. 

“ I told him you were all going to study,” said 
Cousin Kate, “ just as Roger is studying, too. 
I’m afraid he didn’t like it, but very likely he will 
come again this afternoon and then you can give 
him a good time. He mustn’t come mornings. It 
would be too hard for Blanche to be shut up in 
the schoolroom if she knew you were playing ten- 
nis with him or going down to the inlet to row.” 

“ Did he mind much. Cousin Kate? ” asked Char- 
lotte, speaking seriously, as she was capable of 
doing sometimes. “ I don’t believe it is a good 
thing to make Bertie mad. He doesn’t mind my 
scolding him. I wish he minded it more. But if 
you won’t let him do what he wants, he’ll get even 
with us somehow. When we were children we 
never made him real angry without being sorry 
for it; and he’ll be so polite all the time you’ll 
never know he’s to blame.” 


92 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ Really, darling, I don’t think we can manage 
our affairs solely to please Egbert Benning. He’s 
a spoilt child, I know, and doesn’t like to be 
crossed. I remember how, when he was ten, he 
hid my silk spools while I was in the room all the 
time, but I hope he’s a little too old for such things 
now, and I really don’t see what he can do to us.” 

Though Charlotte groaned over the study hour, 
she really enjoyed it, and Miss Eslin, too, like 
any other governess, found some satisfaction in 
teaching girls who learned rapidly and were inter- 
ested in what they learned. They expressed their 
willingness to begin anywhere Blanche happened 
to be in languages. Blanche had brought with her 
a French life of Madame de Lafayette which she 
had been reading with her cousin Helena at Wych- 
stone. She coolly announced that they had got 
as far as where Madame de Lafayette’s mother, 
whose name she didn’t remember, had her head cut 
off. Miss Eslin was delighted that Charlotte and 
Emeline took the trouble to read up in the book 
from the beginning, that they might, as Charlotte 
said, “ find out how the old lady got into such a 
fix.” 

In their German reading of Schiller’s “ Wallen- 
stein ” Emmie almost wept over the sorrows of 
Max and Thekla. Charlotte, though she laughed 
at the lovers’ old-fashioned sentiment, was mildly 
curious to know what became of them, while 
Blanche was frankly indifferent to their fate. 

“ Why don’t you hold a handkerchief in your 


RIVAL HEROINES 


93 


hand tomorrow ? ” asked Charlotte one day when 
Miss Eslin had really been provoked with Blanche’s 
nonchalance. “ That wouldn’t be any trouble to 
you, and it would seem as if you were going to 
weep and sympathize a little with Miss Eslin.” 

“ I think that would be deceitful,” said Blanche, 
assuming a high moral tone ; “ I wouldn’t pretend 
anything. Miss Eslin is half German and has the 
German sentimentality. I don’t care for it at 
all.” 

“ What do you care for.?^ ” asked Charlotte, 
looking at Blanche curiously. “ Oh, I know. 
You’re not as silly as some of the girls at Miss 
Wilmarth’s, but you’re really just like them. I 
know one thing. If Max Piccolomini were alive 
now, you’d never rest till you’d got him away from 
Thekla.” 

It was Blanche’s way never to parry Charlotte’s 
thrusts, but always to look coolly superior. She 
could not now help a rising color; she merely said, 
I suppose Egbert and Roger will come this 
afternoon. Egbert asked me if I wouldn’t go with 
him in his canoe. I hope he didn’t mind, for I told 
him I must ask Roger to take me. I can’t swim 
as you and Emmie can and I feel so much safer 
with Roger. I begged Egbert to follow us in the 
next canoe. Why doesn’t he take Emmie this 
time, instead of always taking you, Lottie.? You 
can go with Miss Eslin, you know, in the extra 
canoe Aunt Kate said we could hire.” 

Poor Charlotte! Things were different indeed 


94 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


from what they were in the last happy summer 
when she had done all the talking and planning for 
the three other young people. She felt that she 
had been too ready to look down on Blanche for 
being stupid. Blanche didn’t talk much, but she 
was by no means so stupid as not to know what 
she wanted and how to get it. 

“ I’ll go with Miss Eslin,” said Emmie ; “ I’d a 
great deal rather go with her than with Egbert.” 

“ No, you hadn’t,” said Charlotte, recovering 
herself ; “ I won’t have you always sacrificing your- 
self, Emmie. I’ll go with ‘ the old lady,’ as Roger 
calls her. I don’t believe she’s more than thirty, 
but I think she ought to be three hundred from all 
she’s seen and undergone. But next day, Blanche, 
I’ll arrange matters. I’ll go with Bertie, that’s 
my name for him ; Roger will ask Emmie, I know 
he will if I tell him to, and you and Miss Eslin 
can go behind in the old punt that can’t upset.” 

“ You can plan it all tomorrow,” said Blanche 
loftily ; “ I don’t expect to be here. I am going 
to drive with my grandfather. Cousin Kate will 
go this afternoon, but I told her I particularly 
wished to do my share, and I plan to go with him 
at least twice a week. Perhaps I ought to go oft- 
ener when he likes it so much.” 

“ He’d just as lief have one of us, if he is your 
grandfather. Blanche Gassett, you want to be 
first with Roger, first with Egbert, and first with 
Uncle Jonathan, and I think that’s altogether too 
much.” 


RIVAL HEROINES 


95 


“ You’ve such an odd way of putting things, 
Lottie. Of course he likes his own grandchild 
best. But I must go and be fitted before dinner.” 

Blanche was not to be outdone in clothes any 
more than in receiving attention. Though her 
wardrobe was pretty and complete in its way, she 
really was poorly equipped for an American sum- 
mer. Lowe was set to work to make her thin white 
linen shirtwaists, and as Miss Eslin admired the 
plain “ Dutch-necked ” gingham frocks which 
Charlotte and Emeline wore for mornings, Blanche 
was conducted to the village dressmaker that sim- 
ilar frocks might be cut for her. 


CHAPTER IX 


A DAY OF DISCOVERY 

So much had been learned and accomplished 
that even Miss Eslin could not object to a whole 
day being taken for a picnic. Nomono had once 
been part of the old town of Crossbrook, but when 
the town had grown so large as to be of unwieldy 
size, the district of Nomono Village and the Sharp- 
stone River mills had been set apart as a separate 
town, and had taken the name of the old tribe of 
Indians who lived in that part of Massachusetts, 
while Crossbrook kept the name given by the first 
English settlers. To show that, though now un- 
der separate governments, they kept up a friendly 
feeling and a pride in their Colonial heritage, the 
principal inhabitants of both towns were in the 
habit of meeting every summer for a picnic on the 
shores of Pumpkin Pond, at about an equal dis- 
tance from the two town centres. 

The morning of the picnic day was unusually 
fine and cool, and all the picnickers gathered at the 
rendezvous in the High Street. Some were in 
private conveyances, but the majority were to go 
in two of the long wagons called “ barges ” in New 
England. Old and young joined, and it added to 


A DAY OF DISCOVERY 


97 


the gaiety of the occasion that it was shared by 
the most eminent citizen of the town, Jonathan 
Gassett. Mr. Gassett drove himself and his 
daughter in his beloved open wagon. Katherine 
loved these gatherings, which showed that, in spite 
of emigration and immigration, the old town feel- 
ing still remained. She only wished that every 
one would enjoy it as much as she did. Blanche 
would surely have a good time if Egbert and Roger 
both attended her. 

It was hardly to be expected that Miss Eslin 
would enjoy herself. She certainly did not con- 
tribute to the enjoyment of others. She sat in the 
barge, which seemed to her a very uncomfortable 
and crowded vehicle, trying to smile and not to 
mind the noise and jolting. How strange it was 
that people whose homes were in some ways the 
most comfortable she had ever seen should not be 
driven properly to the picnic in elegant carriages, 
or go in new-fashioned motor cars ! Though she 
did her best, she could not lay aside her governess 
manner, while Miss Marvin, who was in the same 
barge, talked, laughed and joked with the young 
people as if she had never been inside a school- 
room. 

Prominent among the company were the two 
Miss Nyes, one of whom. Miss Almira, the town 
dressmaker, cordially greeted Miss Eslin, and 
proudly introduced her sister. Miss Cordelia, who, 
being of a literary turn, was the town librarian. 
One topic for discussion was whether a Mr. and 


98 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


Mrs. Meecom, who had arrived in town a few days 
before in an immense auto, and were staying at 
the Pumpkin Inn, would come to the picnic. They 
were from New York and were known to the Cor- 
wins, who had called upon them. They had had 
an informal invitation, indeed there was no one 
whose special business it was to give them a formal 
one. Some thought it was a pity to have stran- 
gers come into an old local festivity, others that 
they would add to the liveliness of the occasion. 

Pumpkin Pond was reached at last. It was a 
long winding sheet of water with innumerable bays 
and inlets which stretched far into the confines of 
both towns. The picnic grounds were on a high 
knoll, level on top, at the end of a peninsula cov- 
ered with a pine grove, from which the water 
could be seen on every side. On the other side of 
the high road was Frozen Spring Farm, an old 
New England house shaded by tall elm trees, the 
abode of Deacon Ackers and his formidable wife. 

The elder ladies began to arrange the collation, 
the younger to enjoy themselves. Blanche and 
Charlotte were in their proper element. They 
soon looked like water nymphs, with their white 
dresses decorated all over with water lilies which 
the boys had brought for them. Miss Eslin took 
up a position under a maple tree at a little dis- 
tance off, with the air of one determined not to be 
troublesome, but to do her duty. She had been 
introduced to almost every person present, but 
would not abandon her post by offering to help 


A DAY OF DISCOVERY 


99 


with the picnic table. Blanche, however, aban- 
doned her, and changed her position so constantly 
that the governess could not keep her in sight, un- 
less she ran after her every minute. Emeline, see- 
ing Miss Eslin sitting alone, ran up to her. 

‘‘ There’s a little time before dinner,” she said. 
“ Wouldn’t you like to take a walk.? We might 
go along the shore.” 

“ Thank you, dear. But where is Blanche.? 
Do you see her.? ” 

“ Why, she’s with Roger, Miss Eslin,” said Em- 
mie earnestly, as if nothing more could be asked 
for any one’s safety. “ Please come ! I’ve some- 
thing to show you.” 

Miss Eslin only agreed to please Emeline. She 
didn’t at all enjoy climbing over the boulders 
which jutted out from the rocky shore of the lake, 
while Emmie bounded over them as lightly as if 
nothing held her to the earth. They were soon 
out of sight of the picnickers. 

“ Isn’t it lovely.? ” said Emeline. “ I came here 
once before with Roger and Lottie. You can’t 
see a house anywhere. It’s just as wild as when 
the Indians lived here. Isn’t it strange to think 
that the railroad goes by opposite.? There, that’s 
the noon train, the way we came here, you know.” 

The train whisked by with a shriek on the op- 
posite shore, the smoke just showing above the 
trees. 

“ Let’s come a little further,” said Emeline 
eagerly ; “ we had to turn back when I was here 


100 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


before, it was so late; but I thought there was a 
path and I want to find it again.” 

“ Yes, dear,” said Miss Eslin, speaking as one 
would to a child, “ but I am afraid you will soil 
your pretty frock.” 

“ Oh, it isn’t hurt at all,” said Emeline, in- 
specting herself ; and indeed her white blouse and 
linen skirt were as unsoiled as if she had been 
flying instead of walking. 

She ran on and Miss Eslin followed. Miss Eslin 
would have done a good deal for the one creature 
on the American continent who had shown a real 
interest in herself, and for whom she felt real af- 
fection ; but as she clambered on, now wetting her 
feet, and now forcing her way through the bushes 
by the shore, she heartily wished that she, with 
this dear child in her care, were walking on a nice 
smooth path at some German Spa or Swiss water- 
ing place. 

“ See, Miss Eslin, here’s the path ! ” exclaimed 
Emmie, “ it must have been an old wood road 
going down to the pond.” 

Miss Eslin only saw a place where the ragged 
undergrowth was a little less dense, but turning 
away from the lake they were soon where even she 
perceived some kind of a path, and a little further 
on the walking became tolerably smooth. 

“ O Miss Eslin,” exclaimed Emmie, who seemed 
to have the woodcraft of an Indian, “ see what 
I’ve found! Here’s an apple tree growing right 
in the woods I The apples aren’t so very green. 


A DAY OF DISCOVERY 


101 


I guess they’re Pumpkin Sweets. Try one ! ” 
She handed Miss Eslin a small, very green apple, 
and proceeded to sample another for herself. 
“ We must be near some old house or settlement,” 
she added. ‘‘ Let’s discover it ! ” 

“ But aren’t you afraid, dear, in these woods ? 
They are so wild and we must be far away now 
from our party.” 

“ Oh, there’s plenty of time and we may be al- 
most there. Here’s another apple tree. Pretty 
soon we may come to a hole in the ground where 
there used to be an old cellar.” 

Miss Eslin shuddered and looked carefully at 
her feet. Emmie still ran on ahead. The trees 
became more scattered and at last they came out 
upon a small meadow, where, sure enough, there 
were the remains of a little farm, such as can be 
found almost anywhere in rural New England. 
There was the orchard, now running to waste, ap- 
ple trees and forest trees growing together, a 
fallen well-sweep, and a barn of black decaying 
wood, the roof half fallen in. Beside it, and a 
few ruinous sheds, was a tiny farm house in a bet- 
ter state of preservation, though the wood work 
was blackened with age. Boards nailed over the 
windows gave it a lifeless look, as of a house with- 
out eyes. To Miss Eslin the whole picture was 
inexpressibly dreary. The only thing that grat- 
ified her was that Emmie in delight seized her hand 
with a childlike demand for sympathy. 

“ I knew there was a house here ! ” she exclaimed. 


102 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ I knew that road led to something ! Let’s go 
and see if we can get inside.” 

“ But, my darling, it may be private property, 
and it may not be clean ! ” 

“ Oh, but people always look into deserted 
houses. This looks like a picture I’ve seen of 
the log cabin President Lincoln was born in.” 

They tried the front door, but it was locked. 
At the back of the house they were more success- 
ful and entered at a mouldering door. Miss Eslin 
in a compound terror of lurking robbers and fever 
germs. There was scarcely any furniture left in- 
side; the few rooms were bare and neat enough, 
and through the peep holes left in the window 
boards there was a pretty view, with glimpses of 
the pond through the trees. 

“ We’ve rowed all round the pond and never 
seen this house ! ” exclaimed Emmie. “ Isn’t it 
interesting that you and I’ve found it.^ We must 
all walk here again and explore about, but let’s 
keep it a secret and surprise people with it.” 

“ Yes, darling, yes, but we really ought to go 
back now. They will be anxious about us.” 

But when, with difficulty on Miss Eslin’s part, 
they had retraced their steps, no one at the picnic 
grounds seemed to have missed them,- — certainly 
not Blanche, who had not only Egbert and Roger 
in attendance upon her, but Mark Corwin, the 
eldest of the Corwin family, as the other girls 
were all busy at the tables. There was a group 
around an immense new auto, which had just 


A DAY OF DISCOVERY 103 

climbed snorting up the steep hill to the picnic 
knoll. 

“Ah, what is that.'^ ” said Miss Eslin, feeling 
again in her rightful element. “ Are those the 
strangers they were speaking of.^ What a dust 
cloak that lady has ! And, ah, what beautiful di- 
amonds 1 See, Emeline dear, on her hand without 
the glove I ” 

But she was disappointed if she expected that 
Emeline would now sympathize with her in turn. 
It was incomprehensible to Emmie how anybody 
could care for diamonds or see them from such a 
distance. It was old things that she cared for, 
and she wasn’t at all interested in the new arrivals 
with their fine new equipage and finer clothes. 
Without even looking at them, she skipped off, 
like the will-o’-the-wisp she was, to help the other 
girls. She joined the party headed by Cousin 
Kate, who, each laden with a pitcher or jar, were 
crossing the road to the farm to beg for water 
from the famous spring. 

Katherine Gassett was such a popular person 
that all insisted she should go first to soften the 
heart of Mrs. Ackers. Deacon Ackers, like a 
thrifty Yankee, turned many honest pennies by 
renting his beautiful picnic grounds. But though 
Mrs. Ackers enjoyed the profits, she, very incon- 
sistently, quarrelled with the picnickers who 
brought them. She was in a gracious mood to- 
day, not only allowing the party to fill their pitch- 
ers at her spring, but giving them bunches of 


104 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


white rockets, larkspur, monkshood and other old- 
fashioned flowers to decorate their tables. 

At dinner the older people remained seated while 
the younger ones passed the provisions about. 
Miss Eslin was oflPered a seat with the Miss Nyes 
and would have been happy enough to rest if she 
could only have felt that she was not neglecting 
her charge. No one else was taking care of 
Blanche, for Aunt Kate had been interpreting as 
usual between her father and some of his friends. 
Mr. Gassett was now talking with General Rolby 
and with them was another of the Crossbrook con- 
tingent, a large, rough-looking man with a voice 
of thunder, so Katherine was enjoying herself with 
some old friends of her own, utterly regardless of 
her duties as chaperon to her young relatives. 

It seemed to Miss Eslin that Blanche, if not 
laughing herself, was in the midst of a rather 
lively circle. She did not know that she herself 
was the object of their merriment. Charlotte was 
relating the puzzle about General Rolby’s war rec- 
ord, with which she had already entertained 
Egbert. Emmie colored and, without speaking, 
pulled her sister’s skirt as a warning signal, the 
only result being a more lively narrative. 

“ I should think she would like to come to Amer- 
ica if she thinks we live so long,” said Julia Colla- 
more, Roger’s older sister, who had been passing 
lemonade. 

“ She wouldn’t want to live all that time with 
us,” said Charlotte. “ But, really, I’ve been try- 


A DAY OF DISCOVERY 


105 


ing to see what she will believe. At first she’d 
swallow everything, but now I think she’s getting 
to catch on a little more.” 

“ Try her with the story of the mosquitoes who 
sit on the trees and bark,” said Julia. 

“ Oh, I guess all that sort of thing is stale now- 
a-days,” said Roger sensibly. 

And having done his duty in waiting on oth- 
ers, he went off to get his share of the left over 
ice cream which the thrifty Miss Nyes always 
saved to serve as a reward of merit. 


CHAPTER X 
TWO CONSPIRACIES 


The young people were still discussing Miss 
Eslin when they saw her approaching them. 

“ There ! She’s coming now,” said Charlotte. 
“ Blanche, she’s after you.” 

Egbert was already rising as if to give Miss 
Eslin a chair, a form of politeness, as all were 
seated on the ground. 

“ Do go and talk to her,” said Charlotte. 
“ Make yourself as agreeable as you can be, Bertie. 
Be noble and sacrifice yourself.” 

“ Well,” said Egbert, “ I will. What will you 
give me if I get her to take the next boat for 
Europe.? ” 

The party watched Egbert as he politely ac- 
costed Miss Eslin. He soon persuaded her to take 
a seat with him under a tree and constituted him- 
self her guardian, bringing her samples of every 
kind of ice cream the picnic supplied, but what 
the lookers on most admired was the apparent ease 
with which he talked. He seemed to find plenty 
to say, and Miss Eslin seemed to listen with rapt 
attention. Blanche looked bored, and, as usual 
in a mixed company, said very little, while Char- 
lotte waited on every one and was as entertaining 


TWO CONSPIRACIES 


107 


as she was useful. Not till the plates were col- 
lected and the diners dispersing did Egbert leave 
his post, and then it was Charlotte, not Blanche, 
whom he sought. 

“ Lottie,” he said, “ what will you bet that that 
charming lady won’t engage her passage to Europe 
tomorrow.'’ I’ll bet you ten pair of gloves that 
she’ll sail before August.” 

“ I never bet ; I don’t approve of it,” said Char- 
lotte, assuming as usual a high moral tone when 
with Egbert, “ though gloves would be an awful 
temptation. I haven’t a decent pair left. I just 
don’t wear them now. But it would be a good 
thing if Miss Eslin would go, she makes Blanche 
want to be wild by looking disapprovingly at her 
all the time. You did very wrong, Bertie, to 
encourage Blanche, but I won’t say any more 
about that. I hope I made an impression the day 
we went to Slaughter Hill.” 

‘‘ Yes, there wasn’t much left of me when you 
got through, but you see I’m still alive. Well, I 
thought now I’d try what that lady would swal- 
low and began about our history. She drank in 
with delight various stories of civil wars and riots. 
I made out that the fuss in Beckborough last win- 
ter was about as bad as anything and told of Rod 
and me being called out in Battery X. Of course 
I made Rod out to be the real hero and told a lot 
about how valiant he was. I hinted I could tell 
much more and was inventing beautifully, when I 
thought she couldn’t be quite so idiotic as not to 


108 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


look at a history or find some old papers when 
she got to your house, so I branched out into the 
future and told her what was going to happen. 
I said there was going to be a great revolution 
which I knew all about because I had listened 
round as a scout and heard it spoken of among 
the Dagoes at Beckborough. Then, full of curi- 
osity to know more about it, I had been in disguise 
to meetings of students who are in league with the 
anarchists, just as they are in Russia. You 
know you said she told Emmie something about 
having been near some massacre in Russia.” 

“ You shouldn’t have said anything about that, 
or about Portugal either. She told Emmie not 
to tell Blanche ; didn’t want to sadden her, you 
know. I’d like to see a revolution that would 
scare Blanche if she’d people enough round to pick 
up her handkerchiefs ! ” 

“ Well,” continued Egbert, “ I don’t know an 
iota about Russia and was afraid she’d find out 
my ignorance there, so I just stuck to the future 
and my imagination. I said everybody in Amer- 
ica went travelling round in the summer, and late 
in August, while the Governor was away, Boston 
State House was going to be besieged by a band 
of armed revolutionists, who were to rise with the 
rest of the country on the twenty-seventh. I 
thought I’d put the time far enough off, when I’d 
be sure to be away. I showed her this pin, the 
Sidney School one, you know, and told her it was 
the badge of an order of students who were trying 


TWO CONSPIRACIES 


109 


to help reform the government by constitutional 
means, but that between tyrant capitalists on one 
hand and anarchists on the other we had little 
chance. She remarked that she had observed that, 
in spite of all surface differences, conditions here 
were somewhat similar to those in Russia. The 
undergraduates there, she said, were a menace to 
society, an unknown force that couldn’t be reck- 
oned with. I said it was just so here. I told her 
the name of the society Mark belongs to, Mr. Cor- 
win, I called him, and left her to judge for herself 
what kind of an order it was. You know, Lottie, 
he’s awfully proud of having made the ‘ Skull and 
Bones.’ ” 

“ I know he wants me to tease him about it, but 
I don’t care for his Yale societies. Do go on, 
Bertie.” 

“ She asked me if I supposed the revolution 
would be a bloody one. I said ‘ very bloody.’ ” 

“ Bertie, you didn’t! Were you grave, just as 
solemn as you used to be when you made us all 
laugh in Sunday Sehool, and no one thought you’d 
done anything at alLf* ” 

“ I was a great deal graver. Really, Lottie, 
I didn’t think she would quite believe me. I have 
more genius than I thought I had. But she has 
some sense, after all. She said if all this was go- 
ing on no one seemed to know much about it. In 
short, she thinks it queer that we’re all sporting 
on the brink of ruin. She said she had felt since 
she came here that it was very necessary to be 


110 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


careful about letters. She lost a great many when 
she was in Russia. She has very important letters 
to send abroad ; sometimes she registers them, 
sometimes she doesn’t. She says she has been re- 
markably fortunate. She numbers these impor- 
tant letters and so far hasn’t lost a single one.” 

Charlotte’s merry laugh made Blanche, who was 
with Roger and Mark Corwin, look round. 

“ Oh, tell me more ! Don’t go back, Bertie ! 
I want to know what to say myself.” 

“ You couldn’t be a conspirator, Lottie ; you’d 
laugh and let out everything. Get Emmie to do 
the conspiring. She can hold her tongue.” 

“ I don’t want to conspire, though I think a 
person who is so ignorant ought to expect to be 
deceived. Why doesn’t she know more? But I 
only just want, as long as you’ve been so bad, 
that she shouldn’t find you out right off. You 
mustn’t say anything more to her, Bertie ; it would 
be wicked. Just tell me what you’ve said.” 

“ Oh, well, I said Mr. Gassett was a man of 
great firmness of character, and even if he received 
letters of warning every day he would never flee 
from his post. I said that he was one of the 
largest single factory owners in Massachusetts, 
most factories being run by corporations ; that he 
was a marked man and his house a most dangerous 
place. She asked if General Rolby was also a 
marked man? I said yes, he was marked, too; 
but as she saw him in the distance just then talk- 
ing with Uncle Jonathan and old Brickett, I was 


TWO CONSPIRACIES 


111 


afraid she’d go and ask him about it, so I made 
myself scarce, just saying as I went that she 
mustn’t say a word about what I’d been saying, 
as any allusion to the matter would make Uncle 
Jonathan furious. I’m glad I’m going away. If 
she’s any sense she’ll find me out before long.” 

“ What could she do to you if she did.?^ ” 

“ Nothing, I suppose. I’m afraid she’d take it 
out with locking up Blanche, then Blanche would 
get out and be more frisky than ever.” 

Charlotte kept her eyes open. She saw how 
closely Miss Eslin watched Blanche while the very 
properly got-up and properly behaved Mark Cor- 
win was paying her some mild attentions. When 
the barges were ready for the return trip, she 
noticed how Miss Eslin called Blanche and Emeline 
to her side, but she feared if there were a conspir- 
acy, that it would be nipped in the bud, when Miss 
Marvin, brisk and cheerful as ever, accosted Miss 
Eslin. 

“ Wouldn’t you like to walk home with me,” she 
asked in a friendly way, “ and let these lazy young- 
sters drive.? I suppose you like long walks, as an 
Englishwoman should, and really it would give me 
great pleasure to get better acquainted with you, 
— if I can,” she added in thought to herself, for 
Miss Eslin’s manner, more grave and formal than 
ever, made her seem quite unapproachable. 

Miss Marvin’s kind offer was really the result 
of another conspiracy. She had promised her 
friend Katherine that she would try to get ac- 


112 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


quainted with the governess, and when acquainted 
drop a few hints or even use a little plain lan- 
guage to bring about a better understanding be- 
tween the stranger and the Gassett household. 
Hope Marvin was not an easy person to refuse and, 
though Miss Eslin evidently didn’t like it, she 
could think of no excuse and soon found herself 
walking with Hope behind the barges, which rat- 
tled gaily off. 

It was late and Katherine was dressing for sup- 
per in her room before Hope tapped at her door. 

“ Well,” she said, as she seated herself by the 
window, “ do you want to hear my report I 
wish I were clearer in my own mind. We got into 
a nice talk and she was more confidential than I 
expected her to be about her work. She was care- 
ful what she said, as was very proper, but she 
spoke pleasantly of you, of how devoted you were 
to your father, and how you tried to make her 
comfortable.” 

« I’m glad of that,” said Katherine ; “ I’m afraid 
I shouldn’t feel so pleasantly in her place. But, 
if she forgives me, why isn’t she confidential with 
me.f^ She never talks to me more than is positively 
necessary.” 

“ Because you aren’t as rude as I am and don’t 
make her. I suppose she hasn’t been accustomed 
to be on friendly terms with her employers in the 
grand places where she has lived. You have to go 
more than half way with her, I should say about 


TWO CONSPIRACIES 


113 


ninety-nine hundredths of the way, if you really 
want to make her talk. But she did talk a good 
deal after a while. She fears you think her too 
anxious. She spoke of Blanche and the other 
girls with a good deal of discrimination. She 
said that Lottie, ‘ Lotchen,’ she called her, is a 
clever girl with a good heart, and as for little 
Emeline, I wish you could have heard all the for- 
eign adjectives in which she was praised. English 
wasn’t good enough for her. She was holdselig, 
anmuthig^ simpaticay gracieusCy and I don’t know 
what. I agreed to it all heartily, you know Em- 
mie was always a pet of mine, though I don’t see 
what she has done in this short time to make her- 
self such a favorite. Then Miss Eslin was good 
enough to say that they both seemed to her re- 
markably innocent minded girls, in spite of the 
perfect unrestraint to which they had always 
been accustomed. She doesn’t at all object to 
Blanche’s being intimate with them. But she said 
that some English and more European girls don’t 
know how to use liberty and how to be gracefully 
wild, and have to bo kept in. The wildest girls 
she has known, she said, were brought up in the 
strictest schools. She knows all about them, for 
she has been years in different convents and pen- 
sions. And Blanche, she knows, has been accus- 
tomed to constant care in Lady Dorwych’s school- 
room. 

“ I said all that might be very true, but here 
was Blanche in America now, and probably she 


114 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


would have to spend some time here in her life. 
She must learn how to take care of herself, and 
where could she get a better chance than in a nice 
town like Nomono, where all the boys and girls 
knew each other.?^ But then she didn’t seem so 
reasonable and I couldn’t make her out. She said 
of course there were other reasons why she must 
take good care of Blanche in the present unsettled 
state of things. I thought at first she meant the 
weather and said I didn’t think a thunder shower 
would hurt Blanche, who seemed pretty tough ; 
and as for the heat they could both keep quiet and 
not exercise, but I found she meant the political 
state of the country. I said I was well enough 
satisfied with it, but it won’t do, you know, to try 
the faintest pleasantry on her, and I was beginning 
gravely to expound our form of government when 
we met a group of queer looking people, an oldish 
man and a few women and children. She looked 
at them with great interest when I explained that 
they were probably bound for the Sharpstone 
mills. To my surprise, she spoke to the old man 
in some queer language and they had quite a con- 
versation while I tried to get acquainted with the 
children and find out if they had ever been to 
school. After we left them I couldn’t get her to 
talk again. She seemed frightened and ab- 
stracted, and really, Kitty, I thought her a little 
queer.” 

“ You don’t mean that she is too queer, irre- 


TWO CONSPIRACIES 


115 


sponsible in any way? ” asked Katherine in alarm. 

“ No,” said Hope thoughtfully, “ I should say 
that she could make a legal will and take care of 
herself and all that, but she impresses me as a per- 
son who has been through a great deal and has 
hardly yet recovered herself. Don’t you notice 
how nervous she is sometimes and how hard she 
tries to keep still? ” 

Katherine agreed. For once she was not much 
comforted by a talk with her friend. She sat up 
late that night, writing to Blanche’s father in Eng- 
land. She gave him a clean bill of health for the 
family, all were well and Blanche enjoying herself 
with her cousins, but the governess was not really 
necessary, and as she did not seem happy, though 
they had all done their best for her, had she not 
better return to England? Surely an arrange- 
ment could be easily made, even if she had been 
engaged for the summer. 

Meanwhile Blanche, as usual, was in her cous- 
ins’ room, and had begun to discuss the events of 
the day when Miss Eslin entered. 

“ You must be tired, my dear Blanche,” 
she said. “ I wouldn’t keep your cousins up. 
Charlotte has done a great deal, and as for my 
little Emeline, she must surely rest after her long 
day and her walk with me.” 

“ There ! ” said Charlotte, when Blanche was 
carried off, “ Miss Eslin is heavy enough when she 
is solemn, but when she tries to be lively she is per- 


116 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


fectlj ghastly. ‘ My little Emeline,’ indeed! You 
aren’t her little Emeline, and you aren’t tired at 
all.” 

“ No, Lottie, and I had a splendid time.” 

Charlotte was perhaps a little tired and cross 
herself, but she never was either for long. She 
laughed as she said, 

“ She needn’t take care of us, and as for 
Blanche, I’d like to see any one take care of her! 
Did you notice how she walked off, one at a time, 
with Bertie, Roger, and Mark Corwin.? There, 
now, hear Miss Eslin talking to her, after all she 
said about being tired ! ” 

Long after the sisters were in bed and the house 
was quiet they heard sounds of talking in Blanche’s 
room ; and Katherine, too, writing her letters 
downstairs, heard it and was the more anxious. 


CHAPTER XI 


SHADOWS CAST BEFORE 

The day after the picnic Katherine, coming 
down early to breakfast, was surprised to find 
Miss Eslin downstairs before her, looking from a 
proper distance at some large headlines on the 
outside of the newspaper laid by Mr. Gassett’s 
plate at the breakfast table. Miss Eslin had 
never before been seen to read any periodical lit- 
erature, except some foreign magazines which 
were sent to her regularly. 

“ Would you like to see the paper.'’ ” asked 
Katherine civilly. “ You could have it every 
morning; my father never keeps it long.” 

“ Thank you,” said Miss Eslin. 

She was timidly unfolding the sheet when her 
host appeared. 

“ Do you want that.? ” he demanded. “ Full of 
stuff and nonsense ! ” 

“ I saw there was something very alarming,” 
said Miss Eslin, making an eflPort to be loud and 
distinct. “ Miss Gassett kindly said that I might 
have it later. Of course I should never let the 
young ladies see it.” 

She retreated to her seat and appeared some- 
what frightened when Mr. Gassett, unfolding the 
117 


4 


118 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


paper, growled a little at the news under the head- 
lines before turning to the financial columns. 
Katherine tried to make a diversion when the girls 
appeared by talking of the picnic. She was still 
more surprised when every day afterwards Miss 
Eslin took the paper to her room, kept it locked 
up when not reading it, as she scrupulously ex- 
plained, and then returned it herself to Mr. Gas- 
sett’s study. 

Miss Eslin did not appear to enjoy what she 
found to read. Whenever, as was sometimes the 
case, Mr. Gassett was displeased with the morning 
news, she would look distressed at the prospect be- 
fore her ; and once, when glancing over some mur- 
der trial he muttered something about society be- 
ing “ rotten,” she looked really pale, but she kept 
on with her reading just the same. Not only did 
she read the daily news, but without saying a 
word to any one she, as Katherine discovered, went 
to the public library to read the files of old pa- 
pers. 

Now the picnic was over Katherine supposed 
that the regular lessons would be resumed, but 
Miss Eslin said little of studying, though she went 
through the usual routine and followed Blanche 
about more closely than ever. She was also 
more anxious about letters and continued to re- 
ceive foreign ones, directed in a large, plain, Ger- 
man-looking handwriting that might have been 
masculine. Perhaps, thought Katherine, there 
was some one who admired that tragedy-queen 


SHADOWS CAST BEFORE 


119 


style of beauty. There might even be a marriage 
engagement, and perhaps poor Miss Eslin felt her- 
self an exile, bound to pass the summer in fulfilling 
her American engagement, as Mr. John Gassett 
wrote to his sister that he feared it would be im- 
possible for him to come himself, and there would 
be only Miss Eslin to escort Blanche home. 

Katherine Gassett herself never expected or 
wished to leave her home and her father, but she 
had sympathized with one friend after another who 
had left the circle of girls and joined the company 
of the married; the right and proper thing, she 
thought, for most women. She was now quite 
ready to sympathize with the governess, but would 
never force her confidence. An engagement would 
not explain her reading old newspapers, but it 
would account for her early and late trips to the 
post office and her excessive care in registering let- 
ters. But when Miss Eslin not only received 
plenty of foreign letters, but queerly directed let- 
ters with American stamps came as well, Katherine 
became at first curious and then a little alarmed, as 
the newspaper reading had alarmed her, she could 
hardly have told why. Still she never thought 
of asking Miss Eslin the questions she asked her- 
self. 

Mr. Gassett was less timid or less punctilious. 

“ Who’s writing to you from Boston ” he asked 
bluntly one afternoon as he handed Miss Eslin a 
soiled letter badly directed to the care of the 
“ Honorable Jonathan Gassett.” 


120 A SUMMER SIEGE 

Katherine was almost startled by Miss Eslin’s 
serious reply, 

“ Perhaps I can tell you sometime, sir.” 

“ I hope you’re careful who you write to — you 
write a great deal.” 

“ Yes, sir, thank you,” answered Miss Eslin, and 
disappeared. 

“ Father,” exclaimed Katherine, “ you shouldn’t 
ask her! We mustn’t interfere with her corre- 
spondence.” 

“ I want to know what she writes so much for,” 
repeated Mr. Gassett sturdily. “ I won’t have so 
many letters coming to my care I don’t know 
about.” 

He observed a great deal more than might have 
been supposed possible for one so deaf, and Kath- 
erine, who dreaded his acute questioning, was re- 
lieved when Egbert and Roger appeared at the 
door. Egbert announced that they had hired a 
small runabout in which they wanted the girls to 
go with them to Crossbrook. The runabout had 
only seats for four, but as Lottie and Emmie were 
small they thought the three girls might go behind, 
while the two boys could go in front. They would 
take their supper at the Cranberry House and 
come back by moonlight. 

“ Oh, I don’t know, my dears,” said poor Kather- 
ine. “ I don’t believe Miss Eslin will like it, and 
I don’t know that I like it myself, especially your 
going to a tavern for supper.” 


SHADOWS CAST BEFORE 


121 


“ I thought you wouldn’t like it,” said Roger ; 
“ I told Rotten Eggs you wouldn’t. Just give us 
a few crackers and things, and we’ll get lemons and 
stop at the Ackerses’ spring for water to make 
lemonade, and eat our supper somewhere on the 
road.” 

“ Yes, but — ” said Katherine, thinking of 
Blanche. 

“ Why, Cousin Kate,” said Roger, “ I’ll be 
chauffeur and I know all about this machine. We 
won’t go faster than ten miles an hour, and we’ve 
got two horns we’ll toot all the time.” 

Katherine was silenced. Roger William Colla- 
more was one of those nice American boys to whom 
it would seem an insult to mention Mrs. Grundy, 
and Blanche herself now came running eagerly 
downstairs followed by her cousins. 

“ O Aunt Kate! Mayn’t we go.^^ We planned 
it all at the picnic. We’re going to an old-fash- 
ioned country tavern for supper^ aren’t we, Eg- 
bert.'^ ” 

“ Well, I don’t know. I’m afraid Cousin 
Kate — ” Egbert turned courteously to Miss 
Katherine. 

“ No, Blanche,” said her aunt firmly. “ I’ll 
pack you up a nice lunch and you three may go off 
with the boys in the auto, but not to the tavern. 
That I can’t allow.” 

Blanche looked a little inclined to pout and pro- 
test, but Miss Eslin, as usual, had followed her 


122 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


pupil downstairs and the plan was now explained 
to her. Her guarded manner had now grown pain- 
fully cautious and diplomatic. 

“We will talk it over,” she said, and retreated 
upstairs, making a sign for Blanche to follow her. 
Blanche went, and in a few minutes returned quite 
subdued. She had gained her governess’s consent 
to the expedition, but her pleasure in it seemed 
gone. 

“ Strange,” thought Katherine, when she had 
seen the party off. “ I suppose being a teacher of 
any kind does give one a certain authority over 
young folks. Blanche wouldn’t have paid the at- 
tention to me that she does to Miss Eslin, and she 
doesn’t like her, I know she doesn’t. I wish I knew 
what they say when they talk German ! ” 

Blanche’s silence during the auto ride was not 
more noticeable than was Emeline’s. Charlotte, as 
usual, was quite ready to do all the talking. She 
and the boys were gay enough, and having sup- 
plied themselves with water at the Frozen Spring 
for their lemonade, they went on further for their 
impromptu tea. They chose a rocky pasture on 
Big Boulder Hill, half overgrown with scattered 
maples and dotted with big glacial boulders that 
looked like Druid monuments. There was a view 
of Nomono village in the foreground, with Slaugh- 
ter Hill rising on the other side of the valley. 
The girls climbed the hill first, leaving the boys 
with the auto at the foot. 


SHADOWS CAST BEFORE 


123 


“ Isn’t this lovely ? ” said Charlotte. “ It’s 
more fun to have a picnic this way, I think, than a 
great big picnic.” 

“ Yes,” said Blanche, who had seated herself 
with her back to the view, for, as Charlotte had 
penetratingly observed to Emeline, neither Miss 
Eslin nor Blanche cared a pin for the beauties of 
nature, unless nature was arranged just to suit 
them. “ You have lots of fun, you and Emmie. I 
think Aunt Kate might let me have all the fun I 
can when I may never come to America again.” 

“ Why shouldn’t you come again, Blanche.^ 
We’ve done all we could for you, and if you don’t 
come every other year to see Uncle Jonathan and 
Cousin Kate, you’ll be a hardhearted monster.” 

Blanche did not answer till she had looked at the 
prospect around her and behind the great boulder 
which sheltered them. Then she said, 

“ Things may happen. You may have to leave 
America, too.” 

‘‘What do you mean.^ Blanche Gassett, you 
aren’t such an idiot as to believe any of the stuff 
Bertie told Miss Eslin, if she’s repeated it to you.? 
She’d believe anything, I suppose, after being in 
Russia and Portugal. I wish she could be scared 
into leaving us all tomorrow, but I’m afraid there’s 
no such luck.” 

“ It wasn’t only what Egbert said, but you know 
Miss Eslin does know a good deal, though you 
laugh at her so. She’s talked with some of the 
mill people down by the river village, where you 


124 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


never go. You see, people who live as you do in 
America don’t know all the people who are coming 
in and settling close beside you.” 

It was the first time since she had come to Amer- 
ica that Blanche had really talked seriously with 
her cousins. Both listened earnestly, Emeline 
with some compunction. Lottie must have been 
talking to Egbert and telling him everything, as 
she always did. Emmie felt with a sinking at the 
heart that the dangerous Egbert knew all she knew 
about Miss Eslin’s European experiences. 

“ Do you mean to say,” asked Charlotte, “ that 
when she goes for the mail she makes it an excuse 
to go round slumming for herself.? I should say 
she’d better stay at home. If she wants to know 
anything, why doesn’t she ask Uncle Jonathan.? ” 

“ Grandfather doesn’t know.” 

“ He knows pretty much what goes on in No- 
mono, I can tell you that. What has she found 
out.? You might as well tell us. She’s pretty 
hardhearted not to warn us if she thinks we’re in 
such terrible danger.” 

“ She does mean to tell you as soon as she has 
more letters she wants to get. There’s an old 
Russian who’s going to send them to her.” 

“ An old Russian ! Where does he live .? ” 

“ He’s in Boston now. He came here from Rus- 
sia with all his family, but he’s afraid things are 
going to be just as bad here as they were there. 
He was in Beckborough all the time they had the 
riots. Miss Eslin says it wouldn’t do any harm 


SHADOWS CAST BEFORE 


125 


any way if we’d all go to Canada. We’d be as 
safe there as in England.” 

“ What utter ‘ rot,’ as the boys say,” began 
Charlotte; then her mobile face suddenly changed 
and her eyes lit up as they did when a new thought 
or a new joke entered her mind. Unobserved by 
Blanche, she stole a hand out to touch Emmie, a 
touch Emmie always understood to mean that Lot- 
tie’s sports were not to be interfered with. “ What 
you say, Blanche,” she continued soberly, “ is ex- 
tremely interesting and certainly matters a good 
deal to us. Let’s ask Roger, while we have him 
alone here. Hullo ! ” 

She called, and the two boys both started up 
the hill. 

“ We don’t want you, Bertie, we only want Fa- 
ther William.” 

Egbert remained behind and Roger obediently 
came. 

“ Roger ! ” exclaimed Charlotte, as soon as he 
was within hearing, “ is there going to be a revo- 
lution here in Massachusetts, and are all property 
holders, beginning with Uncle Jonathan and his 
family, to be dragged to the guillotine or massa- 
cred, and must we all fly right off to Canada with- 
out waiting to pack our trunks ? ” 

Roger, who always expected to be amused by 
Charlotte, had his smile all ready for the joke when 
he should see it. Blanche colored, and, looking 
down, pulled some tiny mosses from the rock. 

‘‘ Roger, you must not laugh. This is a serious 


126 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


matter. You must promise us that if there is a 
revolution and our house is surrounded you will 
come with the High School football team, — they’d 
do anything you told them, — and defend us to the 
last man.” 

“ Oh, keep your hair on, Lottie ! ” said the be- 
wildered Roger, “ what are you at ? ” 

“ You’re really laughing, Lottie, I know you 
are,” said Blanche, looking up. “ You may laugh, 
but, Roger, why is it so impossible Why 
shouldn’t things happen here as well as in Russia 
and other places.? I’m sure yoti’ye had three 
Presidents killed, that one with the Scotch name, 
MacSomebody; that other one before him, and 
then the ugly one whose picture is in Grandfather’s 
study. I don’t see why you have him round so, 
on stamps and everywhere.” 

Who could tell what would shock Americans.? 
It seemed to Blanche that she had made a harm- 
less speech, but she saw that she had made a mis- 
take when Emeline flushed and even Charlotte and 
Roger looked grave. 

“ That is President Lincoln,” said Roger slowly. 
“ He was killed nearly fifty years ago. But what 
are you thinking of, Blanche ? What’s the matter 
with her, Lottie.? ” 

Emeline said nothing, but thought to herself, 
“ If Lottie would only let Roger and Blanche 
talk ! ” She felt that Roger’s masculine common 
sense must convince anybody who heard him, but 
Emmie had no hope that he would talk now in the 


SHADOWS CAST BEFORE 127 

reasonable, serious way in which he sometimes 
talked with her alone. 

“You must ask Bertie,” said Charlotte ; “ he’s 
been giving Miss Eslin the most interesting infor- 
mation.” 

“ Just like Rotten Eggs,” said Roger, in his 
usual resigned tone. “ Don’t be scared, Blanche. 
Rotten Eggs shall tell you himself it’s all nonsense. 
Hullo ! Come here ! ” 

Egbert, who had been waiting in the distance, 
approached. 

“ Say, Rotten Eggs,” said Roger, “ you’re get- 
ting too fresh ! Don’t you scare Blanche. Just 
tell her there isn’t going to be a revolution.” 

“ Time will show,” said Egbert, looking sol- 
emnly through his spectacles. 

“ Time will show that you’re a donkey,” said 
Roger unceremoniously. 

“ Oh, I know,” broke in Charlotte, who couldn’t 
keep quiet, “ that’s why Bertie’s going off on a 
cruise. He thinks he’ll be safe at any rate, so 
he’s going down to the Provinces in Kit Sever- 
ance’s yacht.” 

“ Just so, but don’t mention that reason, Lot- 
tie,” said Egbert, still gravely. 

“ You don’t deserve anything to eat, deserting 
us so ! ” said Charlotte, “ but see how forgiving we 
are ! Here are some lettuce sandwiches and some 
fudge.” 

She rattled cheerfully on, and nothing more was 
said of a revolution. As Blanche never had much 


128 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


to say, her gravity passed unnoticed. She ap- 
peared to enjoy herself in a quiet way; both the 
boys were devoted to her and she had a walk with 
Egbert while Charlotte packed up after lunch. 
As Roger helped her out of the auto on their re- 
turn he said suddenly, in a kind, elder-brotherly 
way: 

“ Look here, Blanche, don’t let Rotten Eggs 
scare you. You be quiet. Rotten Eggs, and don’t 
talk nonsense ! ” 

“ I shall say nothing,” said Egbert gloomily. 

“ You’d better not, and, Blanche, don’t let the 
old lady be scared either. If she’s got a few wheels 
inside her, don’t pay her any attention. There 
isn’t going to be a revolution ! ” 


CHAPTER XII 


A DESERTER 

The family at home had finished their supper 
and Mr. Gassett was on the porch watching for 
the young people. Blanche ran up to him with an 
unusual show of affection and looked with appar- 
ent interest at the map of Nomono he had ready to 
show her, learning just where she had been on their 
different expeditions. Then she went upstairs to 
Miss Eslin in the schoolroom. 

“ I am glad you are safe at home, dear,” said 
the governess. 

“ Oh, the auto was all right,” said Blanche care- 
lessly. “ Mr. Collamore managed it. He knows 
all about it.” 

“ It is foolish of me, I know, to be afraid of such 
things. I really feel safer about you, Blanche, 
when you are off in the country than when you are 
in the village. I won’t worry you more than I 
can help. While we are here we must do our part, 
and I know it wouldn’t be wise to excite suspicion 
by your never going anywhere.” 

“ Miss Eslin, really I don’t think you need feel 
as you do. You can’t believe all Mr. Benning 
says.” 

“ As I told you, it is not only what Mr. Ben- 
ning says, but what I have learned for myself. I 
129 


130 


A SUMIMER SIEGE 


have just finished reading a full account of the 
Beckborough strike riots in the papers. The 
place is less than ten miles off. Perhaps I should 
not have told you anything, but I thought I should 
do wrong if I did not tell you a little of what I 
know. And you must let me judge what is best 
for us to do. Is Lowe there Lowe, has Miss 
Blanche’s frock come from Miss Nye’s.? ” 

“ Yes, ma’am, and I have put it in the steamer 
trunk, as you said.” 

“ And your own clothes are arranged so that you 
could leave at short notice.? ” 

“ Yes, ma’am.” 

“ And, as I told you, do not be away from the 
house long, so that we could not get at you.” 

“ No, ma’am, but Agda asked me if I wouldn’t 
go to Boston with her next Sunday and go to a 
service in a Lutheran church where there is to be a 
sermon in Swedish. We can manage it if we get 
up early and I would lay out Miss Blanche’s and 
your things first.” 

“ I would not go. It is a long journey, and 
what good would it do you.? You do not under- 
stand Swedish.” 

“ No, ma’am, but after church some friends of 
Agda’s are going to show us the old church where 
Paul Revere’s friend hung out the lanterns, as it 
tells in Mr. Longfellow’s poem; and the Negroes’ 
monument on the Common Grounds, which I have 
seen a picture of.” 


A DESERTER 


131 


Like many another well brought up English girl, 
Mabel Lowe knew her Longfellow, and had a fine 
blue and gold copy of the poems which had been 
given her as a prize at her village school. As Miss 
Eslin hesitated, she added, 

“ Miss Gassett, ma’am, was kind enough to 
promise us money for the tickets, if you were will- 
ing I should go. She said it would be nice for me 
to see something of the country.” 

Miss Eslin sighed. Lowe was as quiet and re- 
spectful in manner as ever, but it was evident that 
she was determined on the trip to Boston. 

“ You may go, Lowe,” said Miss Eslin at last, 
making a virtue of necessity, “ but be careful 
what you say and do. Remember this country is 
not England.” 

It was no wonder that Blanche escaped more 
than ever to her cousins’ room, and she slipped in 
this evening as usual. 

“ It was good fun today,” she remarked care- 
lessly. 

“ Yes, you can’t say this time, Blanche, that I 
didn’t leave you Bertie. You walked all round 
the hill with him.” 

“ Yes,” said Blanche, “ he told me a great deal. 
Lottie, do you know about the society Mr. Cor- 
win belongs to.? I mean to ask him about it.” 

“ The ‘ Skull and Bones ’ ! Don’t you mention 
it ! It’s one of those dreadful secret societies they 
have at Yale. Mark wouldn’t tell you anything 


132 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


if you asked him, and the other men would kill him 
if he revealed any of their secrets.” 

‘‘ O Lottie ! But you said once that Roger had 
solid qualities. You think a great deal of his 
opinions, don’t you.? He thinks there isn’t going 
to be any revolution.” 

“ Yes, Roger always had a beautiful, hopeful 
disposition.” 

“ I mean to ask Grandfather what he thinks,” 
said Blanche. 

“ No, don’t ask Uncle Jonathan or Cousin Kate. 
He would be very angry if the subject were men- 
tioned. We never speak of it to him ! ” 

“ Egbert says,” continued Blanche, speaking 
with a curious reluctance, “ that he hates to go 
away now. He’s more anxious about me than any 
one else, because English people would be so 
marked.” 

“ Yes, he’ll be worried about you indeed when 
he’s way down in Newfoundland.” 

“ He wouldn’t go,” said Blanche, unable entirely 
to conceal some mortification, “ but he says he 
couldn’t do anything more than his uncle and 
Roger could, if the outbreak should come in Au- 
gust.” 

“No, I don’t think he would be of much use,” 
said Charlotte, calmly beginning to undo her hair. 

“ Now, Lottie, I know you’re laughing at me all 
the time.” 

“ No, I’m not, and I’m willing to give you use- 


A DESERTER 133 

ful information, but you’d better ask Emmie. 
She’s made a study of American history.” 

“ I don’t see how she knows what’s going to 
happen,” said Blanche, who, now she had found 
her tongue, followed Charlotte’s example of never 
giving Emmie time to speak. “ You neither of 
you read the newspapers as Miss Eslin does every 
day. She says they are full of horrors. There 
was all about Beckborough ; and where is Van Bu- 
renville, Lottie.? There was something terrible 
there.” 

“ I don’t know. Perhaps it’s in Massachusetts, 
perhaps it’s in Mississippi or Alaska. This is a 
great country, Blanche. But if you’re really 
anxious, you and Miss Eslin can go to Canada. 
Emmie and I will never desert Uncle Jonathan and 
Cousin Kate. Would we, Emmie.? Why, where 
has she gone.? ” 

“ I wouldn’t desert Grandfather either,” said 
Blanche with an injured air. “ And I don’t be- 
lieve all Egbert says. Americans have a very bad 
habit of deceiving strangers. Miss Eslin and I 
feel we must look out for ourselves. Good 
night ! ” And Blanche departed in her most su- 
perior manner. 

Meanwhile Emmie, in her white wrapper, had 
crept into Miss Eslin’s room. 

“ Please, Miss Eslin,” she began timidly. 

“ Yes, dear.” 

“ I’m sorry I told Roger and Lottie what you 


134 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


told me about being in Russia and Portugal. I’m 
afraid Lottie told Bertie and that’s why he’s try- 
ing to scare you.” 

“No matter, darling, it was very natural that 
you should speak of it. You need not think that 
I depend altogether on Mr. Benning’s information, 
and I should have thought it right to warn Blanche 
in any case. So don’t feel as if you had done any 
harm.” 

“ But, Miss Eslin, there isn’t going to he a revo- 
lution, really there isn’t.” 

“ I hope not, darling,” said Miss Eslin, in the 
petting tone which she kept for Emeline alone, 
“ and I don’t want you to be anxious. We will 
take care of our little Emeline, whatever happens. 
You don’t read the papers, I hope, dear? That’s 
right. Good night ! ” 

Poor Emmie! Perhaps she didn’t read the pa- 
pers, hut she had attended a “ current events ” 
class in her Boston school; and, if Miss Eslin had 
but known it, was more full of book learned facts 
and dates in modern history than any one else in 
the house. Miss Eslin persisted in petting and 
soothing her as if she were a babe in arms, and on 
Blanche’s return she was obliged to go back to her 
own room. 

She was not much more successful in her remon- 
strances with Charlotte. To her “ O Lottie, you 
oughtn’t to scare them ! ” Charlotte responded, 

“ Well, if they didn’t believe in a revolution, 
they’d believe in something else just as bad. 


A DESERTER 


135 


They’re determined not to like us, or anything in 
America. You ought to lecture them yourself 
and expound about everything in your museum. 
But you couldn’t say more than Roger has. 
Blanche might believe him, and when Bertie isn’t 
afraid to come again. I’ll give him another scold- 
ing.” 

It did indeed seem as if Egbert were afraid of 
Charlotte or of something in the house. While 
Roger dropped in almost every day after his les- 
sons to play tennis or make plans with the girls, 
Egbert’s absence became quite marked. Miss Es- 
lin no longer sat in her room during the tennis 
games. She was always at hand with her book or 
work at a little distance off, on the piazza or gar- 
den seat. 

“ An awful bore, but we’re getting accustomed 
to her,” Charlotte confided to Roger. “ I know 
now just how royal people feel who are never left 
alone and have a flourish of trumpets whenever 
they sit down to breakfast. When I thought she 
hated us all I didn’t mind it, but now she’s affec- 
tionate and calls us her ‘ dear girls,’ it’s a great 
deal worse.” 

“ I guess she doesn’t do any harm, poor old 
lady ! ” said Roger. “ Hullo, Lottie, you and Em- 
mie play singles and we’ll watch.” 

A single set between Charlotte and Emeline was 
a pretty sight, they were so well matched and just 
of a height. Both dressed in plain white, with 
their dark hair tied with wide white ribbons, they 


136 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


seemed really to be flying over the green court, 
and their play was athletics made poetry. It was 
not much fun for any one to play with Blanche, 
who found the general reputation of English-bred 
girls for skill in outdoor games decidedly inconven- 
ient. As the boys agreed, she was “ no sport,” 
and they were glad when she found it too warm to 
do anything but sit still. She was looking on when 
her governess approached. Roger threw himself 
on the ground to give Miss Eslin room to sit be- 
side Blanche. 

“ Mr. Collamore,” began Miss Eslin, after a 
pause, “ I am glad to have an opportunity to 
speak with you.” She paused again for a mo- 
ment, then went on, carefully choosing her words, 
“ Mr. Benning gave me a most interesting account 
of the hardships and perils you underwent when 
serving with your territorial forces at Beckbor- 
ough. I understand from him that the trouble 
there is hardly settled yet. Do you expect that it 
will break out again, and if so, when.^ ” 

Roger Collamore was as open and apparently 
easy-going a boy as ever lived, but if there was one 
subject he never wanted to discuss it was his ex- 
perience with the militia at Beckborough in Bat- 
tery X, the one important man’s work he had done 
in his short life. Now he could only say he 
guessed there wasn’t going to be any more fuss. 

“You think not.?^ ” said Miss Eslin, looking 
penetratingly at him. “ If there were more trou- 
ble, would they send your branch of the service 


A DESERTER 


137 


there again? I understand that socialistic and 
revolutionary principles are spreading among 
American university students. Perhaps they 
would hardly be trusted in a body.” 

“ I suppose they like to raise a rough-house 
sometimes,” said Roger. He could not make out 
what in the world Miss Eslin was driving at, hav- 
ing for the moment forgotten all about the talk of 
revolution. He concluded that she was one of 
those kind but ill- judging elder women who try to 
make themselves agreeable to college men by ask- 
ing foolish questions about their life. 

“ I ought not, perhaps, to ask you more than 
you would like to tell, but if you are in a position 
to know of the inner working of revolutionary 
college societies, I would really like to know how 
nearly their principles generally approach to real 
Nihilism, or if they are more Socialistic.” 

“ I don’t know much about Socialism. I 
haven’t taken any Political Economy course. 
They’re cinch courses, most of them, but father 
wanted me to take Greek instead. Hullo, Lottie, 
you’ll be beat! What a ball! Emmie, I bet on 
you ! Why doesn’t Cousin Kate come out to look 
on? ” 

He ran in search of Miss Katherine, partly out 
of kindness of heart, and partly because he 
thought she would protect him from Miss Eslin. 
He left that lady but little comforted. Mr. Col- 
lamore, she thought, was reluctant, perhaps nat- 
urally, to give her any information. She, too. 


138 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


wondered why Mr. Benning didn’t come. Char- 
lotte didn’t wonder, justly divining the real rea- 
son. She missed Egbert and was provoked with 
him, and when she visited her friend Julia and met 
him at his aunt’s house, she gave him another 
scolding, which they both enjoyed. 

“ Bertie,” she said, “ you grow wickeder and 
wickeder and you make me bad, too. You scared 
Blanche some more when you walked with her on 
Boulder Hill.” 

“ Well, but, Lottie, I must talk about some- 
thing, and she doesn’t care a pin for our affairs in 
general. It’s fun to make her ‘ sit up and take 
notice.’ ” 

“ You shouldn’t rouse her, you should leave her 
to be cool and tranquil. Those are highbred man- 
ners, Bertie. 

Her manners had just that repose 
Which stamps the caste of Vere de Vere.’ ” 

“ Well,” retorted Egbert, “ if a girl has such 
highbred manners that she makes a man do all the 
talking, she should have the sense not to believe 
all he says. A man never expects a girl to believe 
all he says anyway when he’s complimentary.” 

“ I know that very well, Bertie ; that’s why I 
never allow any compliments from you. But you 
might try more compliments on Blanche. Talk to 
her about herself. She’d be a great deal safer sub- 
ject than revolutions.” 

“ I’ve said all I can think of about her. I had 


A DESERTER 


139 


to take to revolutions. If I came to your house 
I should have to make up more, so I keep out of the 
way.” 

If Blanche missed Egbert, she was too proud to 
complain, but she grew duller and duller. The 
Corwins with their gay young family had gone 
to the seaside. The Meecoms were still at the 
Pumpkin Inn, where Cousin Kate had made a call 
on them which they had returned. They were 
making Nomono the centre of a series of automo- 
bile excursions and had once invited the Gassett 
family to join them. Only Blanche and Miss 
Eslin had gone, the others being glad to have them 
well taken care of for a day. There had been 
some talk of another invitation, but so far it had 
been nothing but talk. 

Blanche, who always considered herself her 
grandfather’s special pet, took courage to ask him 
if he would not take them all on some little journey 
or excursion, and was assured that he had always 
intended doing so in September when it would be 
more pleasant to travel. He was too busy over- 
seeing the new public library building to go at 
present. When Blanche timidly suggested Can- 
ada, her grandfather assured her that she would 
like the coast of Maine much better. He would 
take them all down to Shallow Harbor, where Mrs. 
Greenwood and both the Mrs. Bennings had al- 
ready gone, and where he knew many of the sum- 
mer people. Later her uncle Archie would take 
her to Niagara, perhaps even as far as the Yellow- 


140 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


stone to see the travellers’ sights of America. In 
the meantime Blanche could “ enjoy ” herself with 
her cousins. 

It is depressing to be in the same house with the 
persistently discontented, and the presence of 
Blanche and Miss Eslin, though neither of them 
complained by word, affected the spirits of all 
the household but Mr. Gassett, who appeared as 
cheerful as ever. Katherine wondered what more 
she could do to make them happy. Charlotte, who 
would have found an old ladies’ tea party inter- 
esting, lost patience with them and went more and 
more to the Collamores’, glad enough that Miss 
Eslin objected to Blanche’s following her. Julia 
was more than four years older, but, as another 
girl, her society was infinitely superior to 
Blanche’s. Sometimes Charlotte felt that she 
ought to try to be more friendly with Blanche, a 
girl of just her age in the same house, but the 
truth was that Blanche’s very virtues, her self- 
possession, her sincerity and her pretty manners 
to her elders, were provoking in a girl of such lim- 
itations. And Blanche had looked so nice when 
they had first met in the train ! If, as Cousin Kate 
thought, there was something in her, Charlotte 
sometimes felt like shaking her to force that 
“ something ” out. 

Charlotte also employed herself in writing let- 
ters to her numerous friends. She was popular at 
school, being bright at her lessons and always 
ready to help other girls, even when she laughed 


A DESERTER 


141 


at them. She now flattered herself that though 
she was staying with older relations in a quiet 
country town, her letters were fully as interesting 
as those of her friends who were at girls’ summer 
camps or gay resorts. She described the dull 
company she had to endure in such glowing colors 
that she laughed over her letters. 

Emmie, too, wrote letters, though by no means 
so many ; she sometimes went to the Collamores’ 
with Charlotte, and also employed herself with 
reading and arranging her museum. She was 
sadly frightened once when Roger produced an 
Indian arrowhead which he had picked up on a 
cross country tramp, and presented it to her be- 
fore the assembled company with, “ That’s for 
your museum, Emmie.” Miss Eslin asked to look 
at the curiosity, remarked that it was very inter- 
esting, then talked learnedly of the contents of 
dolmens and prehistoric caves in Europe. She 
asked to see the museum and was interested, or 
pretended to be, in its contents. She even prom- 
ised Emmie that “ if they remained in Nomono,” 
she would send for some ancient relics, owned by 
a learned Swiss professor who had once instructed 
her, which she knew he could spare, and poor Em- 
mie was quite alarmed for fear that her museum 
with its special treasures would be turned into 
an anthropological and geological cabinet for 
which she wouldn’t care at all. To her great re- 
lief, Blanche expressed no interest in it whatever. 

Egbert’s absence became so marked and long 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


142 

continued that at last Mr. Gassett asked the ter- 
rible question at the supper table, why didn’t he 
come with Roger to see the girls, if he were still 
in Nomono. Blanche colored consciously, while 
Charlotte answered readily, 

“ O Uncle Jonathan, he’s been wickeder than 
usual and I’ve been scolding him, so that he’s 
afraid.” 

At last, the evening before he was to leave No- 
mono, Egbert appeared, protected by his aunt, 
Mrs. Collamore, and his cousin Julia. His ex- 
pression of abject fear was almost too amusing to 
Charlotte when she caught his eye. He had, he 
said, come to bid good-bye. He was leaving to- 
morrow for Boston to join his friend’s yacht. 
Blanche received his protestations of regret coolly. 
When he said, dropping his voice so as to be heard 
by her alone, “ You may be sure I shall return if 
there is anything serious to call me home,” she 
would not appear to understand, and merely said 
she hoped he would have good weather and a pleas- 
ant voyage. If she couldn’t talk, she could be 
dignified. She held her little head high and 
walked off to join her governess. 

Egbert was not to escape a little of the punish- 
ment he deserved. While his aunt was loudly re- 
peating the gossip of the day to Mr. Gassett, and 
Katherine and Julia were consulting on parish af- 
fairs, Miss Eslin approached and with her “ glit- 
tering eye,” as he thought to himself, drew him 
apart. 


A DESERTER 


US 


“ You are going tomorrow,” she said in a low 
tone, in her clear, distinct foreign voice. 

Egbert admitted that he was. 

“ And you still wish me to believe what you told 
me some time ago and what you have since told 
my charge? ” 

“ But you don’t believe it only on my author- 
ity,” said Egbert, fencing. 

“No, I have other sources of information. It 
is to you that I owe the time. I do not wonder at 
your going. I know your uncle and cousin would 
do all they can for their family and for this one. 
But do they think of going, too? Will they fol- 
low you soon?” 

“ Yes, Uncle Frank and Aunt Clara want to go 
to the Maine Lakes fishing, and I suppose Rod is 
going camping out when he has had enough of his 
Greek.” 

“ Mr. Roger Collamore going away? Then — 
then he cannot think there is any special danger 
impending over this family this summer.” 

“ You think he wouldn’t run,” said Egbert, a 
little nettled. 

“ No, I do not think he would leave an old man 
like Mr. Gassett in danger, or Charlotte and Erne- 
line, even if they had other protectors, but he is 
not one who would think of danger or who would 
look much into the future. Good-bye, we may 
never meet again. May all go well with you ! ” 

“ But, Miss Eslin, really I’m coming back here 
before you leave for Europe.” 


144 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ You may think so now, but if you are to be 
gone for two months I doubt if you return. The 
Emigres from France in 1790 expected to return, 
but very few of them did.” 

Egbert looked helplessly round. To be com- 
pared to an Emigre of 1790 was a little too much 
for him, and would have been altogether too much 
for Charlotte, if she had been within hearing. 
But Charlotte was talking and laughing with 
Roger and Emmie. Egbert did not feel like 
laughing himself ; there was something in Miss Es- 
lin’s manner which really frightened him. He 
could only repeat his farewell, with an eerie feel- 
ing, before he was called upon by Mr. Gassett 
to point out the proposed route of the yachting 
cruise. 

“ Lottie,” he said as he bade her good-bye, “ look 
out for the old lady ! You know what she thinks.” 

“ Oh, yes. Of course she’ll find out before long 
that you’ve been stuffing her, but, as I said before, 
what could she do to you if you were here? I don’t 
see why we need look out for her. We never told 
her anything made up. All my badness was that 
I didn’t enlighten her and Blanche. Their igno- 
rance is so dense I felt I couldn’t undertake the 
business. But you didn’t get her to quit us, Ber- 
tie ; she’s so noble she won’t desert us.” 

“ I wish she would, Lottie. What I don’t like 
is that she has all sorts of notions I’m sure I never 
put into her head. She’ll be mad enough when 


A DESERTER 


145 


she finds out how she’s been sold. Tell 06usm 
Kate about it if she seems too queer.” 

“ I’d never tell on you, Bertie. You don’t think 
that of me, do you ? ” 

“ I want you to, if she keeps up this revolution 
business. I’m really a little scared at leaving you 
all. Be careful ! ” 


CHAPTER XIII 


A FAITHFUL WARDER 

Egbert had really gone, and it was to be feared 
that Blanche would be duller than ever, though, 
as Charlotte said, she couldn’t be worse than she 
was before. She asked no more questions about 
revolutionary dangers and no longer quoted Miss 
Eslin’s opinions. Charlotte thought it the safest 
course to let the subject drop, while confiding to 
Emeline that she really thought Blanche would 
rather be teased and frightened than be as bored 
as she was when left to herself. A week had 
passed by when Charlotte and Emeline followed 
Cousin Kate, as usual on “ sweet pea day,” to the 
safe precincts of the vegetable garden. Cousin 
Kate, as usual, hoped that Blanche was growing 
happier. 

“ Oh, must we be trying all the time to make 
her happy.?” groaned Charlotte. “We do try. 
You don’t know how good I am. Sometimes I let 
her talk for ten minutes without saying a word my- 
self. That’s why I want to talk now. But what 
makes her want us to work for her.? She’s just 
our cousin, and if she’s a millionairess, she isn’t 
the first one I’ve seen. Is she one. Cousin Kate.? ” 

“ I’m afraid so ; you know her mother and Lady 
146 


A FAITHFUL WARDER 


147 


Dorwych had a great deal in their own right. It 
was thought a great match for John, but no one 
who knew him would think he married for any- 
thing but love. I always wondered that Helena, 
Blanche’s mother, was allowed to marry an Amer- 
ican, and one in trade, too, as they call it over 
there, but I fancy she was one who would have her 
own way.” 

“ I dare say she was,” interposed Charlotte. 

“ And John,” continued Cousin Kate, “ was al- 
ways one who would have what he wanted. He is 
the handsomest of our family. They fell in love 
with each other when they met by chance on the 
Continent, and I suppose her family thought they 
might as well make the best of it. I wouldn’t say 
anything against Helena now she is dead, but I be- 
lieve we should get on better with his present wife 
and that she is much more one of our own sort. 
She was an English country clergyman’s daugh- 
ter, you know, and her letters sound so homelike 
and sensible. But I wanted to talk to you about 
Miss Eslin, dears. Ah, here is Blanche.” 

“ Oh, yes,” said Charlotte, “ and what does she 
want to come here for when we are having such a 
good time talking about her? She and Miss Eslin 
talk about us when they’re together in the school- 
room, so why shouldn’t we talk about them when 
we get the chance? Blanche, you can’t come and 
cut sweet peas without a pair of scissors.” 

“ I have one,” said Blanche, displaying a shin- 
ing little pair of embroidery scissors. 


148 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ That pair! You’d ruin them in five minutes. 
You must get a large rusty old pair of shears be- 
fore you can come here.” 

“ You can have my shears, dear,” said her Aunt 
Kate. “ You are very kind to come and help us. 
Take these and I will go into the house.” 

“ Yes, please. Miss Eslin says she would be very 
much obliged if she could have a talk with you.” 

Katherine entered the house with some dread. 
After she had rashly given Mabel Lowe five dol- 
lars with which to enjoy a day in Boston with 
Agda, it being incomprehensible to her that two 
grown up women couldn’t get themselves ready for 
church on Sunday without a maid, she feared she 
had trespassed on the province of the governess. 
But Miss Eslin had said nothing of the Boston ex- 
pedition at the time and Katherine had thought 
that both she and Blanche had made the good res- 
olution of making the best of their surroundings. 
Not only was Blanche offering to cut sweet peas, 
but Miss Eslin had actually offered to help cover 
the new tumblers of blackberry jam, remarking 
that it was well to get all work of that kind out of 
the way. Perhaps the trouble now was Blanche’s 
health, as Miss Eslin had lately said a good deal 
about the trying climate of New England in sum- 
mer. Miss Eslin ceremoniously seated her visitor 
and then carefully shut the schoolroom door as if 
afraid of listeners. She then began : 

“ I wish to speak to you. Miss Gassett, on a very 
serious subject.” 


A FAITHFUL WARDER 149 

“ Yes,” said Katherine, trying for a cheerful 
tone. 

“ You will not misunderstand my motives. I 
trust I can say without presumption how sincerely 
attached I am to you all, and how I appreciate 
all your kind efforts to make me happy.” 

The “ efforts ” did not seem to have been very 
successful, thought Katherine. 

“ Yes,” she repeated in a fainter tone. 

As you have lived here all your life, many 
things may have escaped your attention which 
would be noticed by a stranger, who is often the 
one who can see most clearly,” continued Miss 
Eslin, “ and it is difficult, I know by experience 
how difficult, to realize that any great change is 
impending over us and that our daily life will not 
always continue as it has been.” 

“ Yes,” said Katherine for the third time, won- 
dering to what all these generalities were tend- 
ing. 

“ This is home to you, of course, and I realize 
how reluctant you naturally would be to think that 
you may have to leave it. But I doubt if it will 
be safe for you to consider it your home much 
longer.” 

Katherine glanced at the closed door anxiously. 

“ I must speak to father at once,” she thought. 
“ It isn’t safe to have Blanche shut up with this 
woman, as she has been.” 

“ Do not think that I am out of my mind,” said 
Miss Eslin, with an acuteness which was still more 


150 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


alarming. I am not, indeed. You have perhaps 
heard that I was in Portugal at the time of the 
king’s assassination, and that previously I, with 
my pupil whom I brought with me, barely escaped 
from Russia with our lives.” 

“ I have heard something about it. I was very 
sorry for you.” 

‘‘ My pupil’s family were attacked because they 
were Hebrews, but I heard much, then and before, 
I could not help hearing, of the revolutionary 
movement in Russia. Are you aware that since 
the revolt there has been checked for a time, many 
of the revolutionists have come to this country, 
and, combined with the lower classes in your cities 
and associations of students and laborers, are en- 
deavoring to overthrow your government ” 

“ Miss Eslin, this is nonsense ! Excuse me, but 
it is. You have had so many shocks I don’t won- 
der it takes a long time for you to get over them, 
but you are totally wrong in thinking there is any- 
thing of the kind here.” 

“ I expected you would say so,” said Miss Eslin, 
‘‘ but my conscience will not be clear unless I 
speak. You know I speak Russian and most of 
the Austrian dialects. I am in correspondence 
with a Hebrew immigrant from Russia, named Sol- 
sof, who now lives in Boston and who tells me 
that his life has been repeatedly threatened because 
he is not trusted by his fellows. Here is his last 
letter, enclosing some letters he has received him- 
self.” 


A FAITHFUL WARDER 


151 


Miss Eslin opened a packet of soiled papers cov- 
ered with incomprehensible characters. 

‘‘ I also find,” she continued, “ that at least one 
member of the Russian Nihilistic party has been 
living close by you, in what you call the River Vil- 
lage. A girl I met at the Savings Bank, of whom 
Charlotte told, promised to watch his movements 
for me. He has now gone to New York. I have 
been reading this paper, published in the county 
— state, I should say — of New Jersey, some dis- 
tance off, which will show you how widespread the 
revolutionary movement is. It is in Italian. 
May I translate a little to you, and then read some 
of Solsof’s letters ” 

“No, I don’t think I want to hear any of them, 
and I wouldn’t read that paper yourself. There 
may be a few poor discontented people in the coun- 
try, but there really are not enough of them to do 
any harm. If you think there is one of those 
‘ Black Hand,’ or whatever you call them, societies 
coming into our neighborhood we might tell our 
selectmen. But it doesn’t seem to me that you 
have any real foundation for your fears, and what 
do you mean when you say the students are in 
league to overthrow the government.? You are all 
wrong there. Our college boys are really boys 
and have other things to think about than revolu- 
tions. Some missionary should teach Russian stu- 
dents to play football. That would carry off 
their extra steam and they would have none left 
for conspiring.” 


152 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ Mr. Benning told me about it, and about his 
serving with the militia to suppress the terrible 
Beckborough riots. He said the movement was 
widespread through the country. They have set 
the twenty-seventh of August as the day of rising. 
That will be the time, you know, when it is the cus- 
tom of the authorities in America to take their 
vacations. It will be the beginning of a revolution 
of which no one can foresee the end.” 

“ Oh ! ” said Katherine, much relieved. “ It’s 
all Egbert ! Miss Eslin, it’s very naughty of him, 
but he’s been telling you stories out of pure mis- 
chief. That boy, when he played with the chil- 
dren when they were tots, would get them into 
more trouble than you would believe possible. And 
all the time he’d be as quiet as a mouse himself. I 
know him well. Don’t let anything he says weigh 
with you a moment. Ask Roger ! ” 

“ I did ask Mr. Collamore and he gave me an 
evasive answer. It is evident that he will not tell 
all he knows. If Mr. Benning is mistaken about 
the extent of the student societies or the exact date 
of the rising, he cannot have invented all he told 
me, for it is supported by the evidence of Solsof 
and others of whom he never heard. I read for 
myself in the old papers about the riots in Beck- 
borough, and I assure you Mr. Benning did not 
exaggerate their violence.” 

“ Those were just newspaper stories ! ” ex- 
claimed Katherine. “ Why, I went shopping in 


A FAITHFUL WARDER 


153 


Beckborough just when the trouble was said to be 
the worst ! ” 

She stopped, seeing that she was hardly believed. 
She could not wonder that Miss Eslin was fright- 
ened if she had read in one dose the alarming news- 
paper despatches from poor Beckborough, an 
overgrown, but on the whole, prosperous manu- 
facturing town, whose troubles had made capital 
for the newspapers all over the country. Kather- 
ine felt that if she said all the stories were inven- 
tions, it would be in the first place untrue, and 
in the next place Miss Eslin might well be fright- 
ened at finding herself in a country where the 
gatherers of news were so utterly unscrupulous. 
While she paused, puzzled. Miss Eslin went on: 

“ If there should be only a partial rising, how 
could it be suppressed? Nothing has impressed 
me more than the absence of all authority in 
America. I have not seen a soldier, scarcely even 
a policeman in uniform, since I have been here.” 

“ And do you think we have no law or order be- 
cause we don’t need to be kept down by soldiers ? ” 
demanded Katherine, her color rising. “ You 
don’t know us as you think you do. You have 
heard of our Civil War. My father can tell you 
how many hours it was after the firing on Fort 
Sumter that the Massachusetts militia were called 
out and ready to march. If there were any real 
trouble, Egbert, Roger, everybody, would rise to 
defend the government. We don’t need soldiers 


154 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


because every man is, or would be, a soldier. The 
men in the South would rally now, just as quickly 
as they would in the North. You needn’t be 
afraid.” 

“ But your government cannot be a strong one, 
or it would keep better order. I have been reading 
in the papers and I see how many crimes of violence 
there are in America. Think of all the lawlessness 
and lynch law in the country ! ” 

Katherine had never before been asked to think 
seriously of such dreary subjects. She had been 
brought up to look on the bright side of life and 
had always skipped accounts of lynchings and 
murder trials in the papers. Now, when driven to 
a corner, she could not give a clean bill of order 
for the whole country. She tried to defend Mas- 
sachusetts and explain the distinction between the 
general government and the states ; then, failing in 
that, took another line of argument, the prosperity 
of the people and their money in the banks. 

“ Our people,” she said, “ are not starved, like 
some of those poor Russian peasants. They don’t 
want a change of government. They’ve too much 
to lose.” 

“ You have plenty of Russians coming over 
here,” said Miss Eslin, ‘‘ and many from still 
poorer countries. When they see the prosperity 
of your mercantile and manufacturing classes, will 
they be any less lawless than they are at home.?^ 
There would be plenty of native Americans to join 
them, for I have seen it stated that many of your 


A FAITHFUL WARDER 


156 


states which have the largest native population 
are the most lawless. You won’t believe me, I see. 
I thought it my duty to speak. I do not believe 
that either your father or that General Rolby 
would desert their posts, and you, I know, would 
never desert your father. But I have this pro- 
posal to make, which I hope you will consider seri- 
ously. Let me take the three girls to Canada, 
which I find we could reach in twenty-four hours. 
I am an old traveller and Lowe is faithful and ef- 
ficient. We would take as good care of Charlotte 
and Emeline as of Blanche. I assure you I am 
much attached to both of them. Lotchen is a girl 
of great promise and when older will outgrow a lit- 
tle forwardness which is common in clever girls. 
And our little Emeline, who is but a child, is lovely 
in every sense of the word. Their parents have 
committed them to your care. Think what would 
be your remorse if you found too late that you 
had not saved them when you could! We would 
establish ourselves in some retired village and find 
rooms where you could all come afterwards, if 
necessary. I should like to be there before the 
last of this month.” 

“ But, Miss Eslin, think I There really is not 
the slightest reason for your fears, but if they had 
any foundation, why should we be any safer in 
Canada than here.? It is easy enough to cross the 
border. I should think you would wish to return 
to Europe.” 

“ I do, but I know you would not consent to 


156 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


that, for Charlotte and Emeline at any rate. Be- 
sides it would be difficult for us to engage our 
passage at once in Boston, and from what I saw 
in New York when I was there, I should dread pass- 
ing through it for Blanche, known as she is to be 
an English heiress. She is tall and so conspicuous 
she would be easily recognized. My plan is to stay 
quietly in Canada, under the protection of the 
British flag, till we could all sail from Montreal or 
Quebec.” 

“ My father would never consent,” said Kather- 
ine, feeling with a sinking of the heart that it was 
useless to argue with a monomaniac. “ Perhaps,” 
she said, as a bright thought flashed across her 
mind, “ perhaps you would like to go to Canada 
yourself. I should think that a very good plan. 
I went to a charming place with my father once. 
Saint Barbara’s Springs. The mineral waters 
there are very good for rheumatism, and — and, I 
dare say they are helpful, too, in nervous troubles. 
We were acquainted with the doctor. I could 
write and engage you a nice room, and Mabel could 
go with you, if you would like. You could get a 
rest there and Blanche would be very comfortable 
with us. Perhaps you could engage rooms for 
some of us, so we could join you later.” 

“ O Miss Gassett ! ” exclaimed Miss Eslin, 
“ what must be your opinion of me, if you think 
I could so selfishly abandon you all, to say nothing 
of my own charge ! ” 

“ Oh, no, I wouldn’t think that of you,” said 


A FAITHFUL WARDER 


157 


Katherine soothingly. “ Don’t let us talk about 
this any more. Keep your eyes open, and I’m 
sure you’ll see I am right.” 

She went downstairs after a long, unsatisfactory 
conversation, her mind divided between real fear 
of one who was now an inmate of her household 
and a longing to punish Egbert Benning and put 
him to bed without his supper. She recalled Miss 
Marvin’s opinion that Miss Eslin had had a shock 
and that it would take her some time to recover 
her mental balance. Perhaps if the poor thing 
stayed quietly with them she would in time get 
over her delusions, but in the meantime she ought 
not to be so much with the girls. What had been 
more alarming than anything else was the acute- 
ness with which she had made out her case. Grant- 
ing her premises, her conclusions were those of a 
reasonable, observing woman. Though Kather- 
ine’s own opinion was that the governess was not 
at all a really dangerous person, she felt she must 
consult her father at once and as a preliminary get 
him into some place where they could talk with- 
out being overheard. 

Unfortunately she had an engagement for the 
afternoon. Katherine had far too much of the 
New England conscience to have lived all her life 
in one place without finding many duties there. 
She was secretary of the women’s religious society 
of her church, and a member of the school com- 
mittee. Partly to please her father, who liked to 
have her take a prominent part in town work, she 


168 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


had also accepted the position of president of the 
Nomono Women’s Village Improvement and Park 
Association. The women of Nomono wanted to 
show what they could do, and as the male citizens 
had built libraries and churches, their part seemed 
to be to plant and protect trees and lay out a park 
by the river settlement. 


CHAPTER XIV 


A FLIGHT INTO DARKNESS 

“ Going to the village, Kitty? ” asked Mr. Gas- 
sett, as he took his seat at the dinner table with 
the five ladies. “ W^hy don’t you take these girls 
along and let them see how business is done? Ex- 
cept Emmie, it’s her turn to take a drive with me.” 

Everyone seemed to have other engagements. 
Miss Eslin was to accompany Blanche to the dress- 
maker’s for a last fitting, an excellent plan, as 
Katherine thought. The governess could not do 
anything extraordinary while merely walking 
through the village street, and Miss Nye, a level- 
headed woman, though something of a gossip, was 
a safe companion. 

Charlotte would visit Julia Collamore. She and 
Julia had chosen Shakespeare’s historical plays 
for their vacation reading, and having already 
gone as far as the second act of “ King John,” 
they considered that they were doing very well. 

The meeting was a long one, and in conclusion 
the ladies went on a tour of inspection to the park 
grounds. It was late when Katherine returned, 
past the hour for supper. She was uneasy and 
hoped that her father would have overruled Miss 
Eslin’s scruples and insisted on all present sitting 
159 


160 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


down without her. Supper was ready, but no one 
was ready for it. Charlotte was the first to ap- 
pear, and in a few moments Mr. Gassett brought 
in Emeline, sunburnt and happy after a long drive. 

“ Just see. Cousin Kate,” exclaimed Charlotte, 
“ here’s the afternoon mail ; a letter for me from 
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, from Bertie! Why, 
here’s another for Blanche, and one to Miss Eslin ! 
What’s he writing to them for.? ” 

“ You shouldn’t examine their letters, dear.” 

“ I won’t, but I’d like terribly to know what 
Bertie’s writing to Miss Eslin for. I’ll see what 
he says to me.” 

She ran up to her room, followed by Emeline, 
and tore open her letter at once. She soon 
laughed and began to read aloud. 

“ August 9th, 19 — . Somewhere off the coast of 
North America. 

Latitude 44° north. 

Longitude 67° west of Greenwich. 

“ Dear Lottie, 

“ We’ve only one pen on board this leaky craft, so 
I have to write this letter with my last toothpick, 
and hope you can make it out. It is midnight, our 
oil lamp is giving out and the wind is blowing 700 
knots an hour. I had the pen so long, making my 
last will and composing two solemn letters that the 
other fellows who want to make their wills, too, have 
taken it away from me. 

“ There are four of us on board. Kit Severance, 
Lee Trescott, Russ Parry, and your humble servant. 
Kit is captain because he owns the boat and is the 


A FLIGHT INTO DARKNESS 161 


best sailor, which isn’t saying much for him in this 
company. An hour ago he staggered down the stairs, 
shouting that we were lost, but instead of speaking 
him soft and pious, as the kid did in the poem, we 
threw our chicken bones at him and drove him on 
deck again. 

“As I am cook, you may judge how near we all 
are to starvation. I have been feeding the crew on 
canned goods, which have about given out, but as we 
have the indisposition proper to the watery element, 
it doesn’t much matter what we eat, and we may soon 
all be at the bottom anyway. Kit has just come down- 
stairs again, leaving the boat to steer itself, and has 
seized the paper and ink; he’s the one that’s making 
his will now.’* 

Charlotte laughed merrily, and Emeline who, 
in a dainty white dressing jacket, was unbraiding 
her hair before her mirror, heard of all these nau- 
tical woes with great equanimity. 

“ It’s funny, Lottie ; do go on ! ” 

“ Lottie, you were the one who got me into mis- 
chief this time, but I forgive you, as I can say with 
proper pride that it is the first time any one ever got 
ahead of me in such things. I also forgive your scold- 
ing me so much about it afterwards. I mean you got 
me to scare the venerable governess at the picnic. 
She scared so easy it wasn’t much fun, and she scared 
me worse the last night I saw her. I was really 
afraid of her growing crazy, not real crazy, but off 
the hooks so as to frighten people. I’ve written her 
a solemn letter, begging pardon for my wickedness 
and not mentioning you, which I think you will agree 
with me shows true nobility.’’ 


162 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ He’s written to Miss Eslin, Emmie. Don’t 
you wish we could read it ! I guess it’s in a differ- 
ent style from this letter.” 

“ I have also written another letter to the beautiful, 
but — may I say it, Lottie ? the unexciting Blanche, 
begging her to feel at ease and going a little into the 
‘ My country, ’tis of thee ’ style. I guess she won’t 
be scared long. 

“ My toothpick is giving out. We are about to tie 
our letters and wills together and throw them over- 
board in our last empty bottle. 

“Farewell! Think sometimes of your misguided 
friend, 

“ E. B.” 

Morning, August 10th. Postscript. 

“ We’ve made lemonade with our remaining stock 
of water and feel quite revived. Kit has gone on 
deck and taken the helm. We’ve put on our best 
shirts and expect in an hour to make Yarmouth, where 
we will post our letters. I have destroyed my will, 
thinking I hadn’t left enough to my great-grandmother. 
I must make proper provision for her, as she may 
survive me for some years. 

“ Give my respects to the old gentleman and Cousin 
Kitty, and take whatever is proper to yourself and 
Emmie. I expect to be a changed man from this time. 

“ Ever your E. B.’’ 

“ There, Emmie,” said Charlotte, as she ended, 
“isn’t that nice.?^ I am proud of this letter. It 
shows Bertie thinks a great deal of my opinion. 
If you behave with dignity, Emmie, men will al- 


A FLIGHT INTO DARKNESS 163 


ways respect you. I don’t believe he scared 
Blanche so much, either. She wouldn’t have be- 
lieved any one else. It’s a great advantage to be 
able to look solemn. I can’t, so people don’t al- 
ways depend on my judgment as they ought to.” 

“It’s late, girls, are you coming down.?” said 
Cousin Kate, entering. She shut the door behind 
her. “ Lottie dear, please hurry ! I really am a 
little troubled that Miss Eslin and Blanche 
haven’t come home. Did you know how fright- 
ened Miss Eslin was.? I had such a talk with her 
this morning ! Something Egbert said to her and 
some things «he has heard and read in the papers 
have given her the wildest ideas about a revolu- 
tion — ” 

“ We know all about it. Cousin Kate, but we 
didn’t think it worth mentioning.” 

“Worth mentioning! O my dears, you should 
have told me if you knew about it I Does Blanche 
suspect anything.? ” 

“ Oh, yes. I never said anything to Miss Eslin 
about it, but I didn’t undeceive Blanche. I ought 
to have, I know, but you don’t know how funny 
she has been.” 

“ It isn’t funny at all, darling. I’m afraid it’s 
a pretty serious business. Miss Eslin goes so be- 
yond all reason in her notions — ” 

“ It will be all right now. Cousin Kitty. Bertie 
has written me a splendid letter, and another to 
Miss Eslin and one to Blanche. I wish they’d 
show them to us I ” 


164 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ Yes, but, Lottie dear, I’m really anxious. Fa- 
ther is impatient for supper and wonders why they 
don’t come. I asked Bridget — it’s Agda’s day 
out, you know — if Miss Eslin and Blanche had 
been home and gone out again. She didn’t know. 
She and Vesta were sitting with their work at the 
end of the woodshed. Mabel was with them till 
about five o’clock, when she said she must go in 
and see if her ladies had come. As Mabel isn’t 
here now, I think they must have come back for 
her. David has gone home now, of course. 
Would you mind running down to Miss Nye’s and 
asking when Miss Eslin and Blanche left her and 
which way they went.? Perhaps you could find 
that out without asking.” 

“ I’d just as lief go. Cousin Kitty, but Miss 
Nye knows a lot that doesn’t happen. She’s had 
her eye on Blanche particularly ; everybody notices 
her. I’m sure she and Miss Eslin will come back 
all right. Where could they go ? ” 

“ Perhaps you are right, dear. Well, we’ll have 
supper. Remember that your uncle knows noth- 
ing of this absurd scare. Help me to get a chance 
to tell him about it after supper.” 

Of course Mr. Gassett, who, like most old peo- 
ple, set a high value on punctuality, remarked 
several times on the absence of Miss Eslin and 
Blanche. After supper, when he had sat for some 
time in the increasing darkness, the simple plan 
that had occurred to his daughter occurred to him 
too, and he said. 


A FLIGHT INTO DARKNESS 165 


“ One of ^ou girls run down to the dressmaker’s 
and see what’s become of Blanche. She can’t have 
been there all this time. If she has, we could do 
without so many clothes.” 

“ You go, Emmie dear,” said Katherine, think- 
ing that perhaps Emeline’s childlike manner might 
arouse less suspicion than Charlotte’s finesse. 

Emeline rose without a word and hurried off. 
They waited till it was quite dark, then Katherine 
carefully shut herself up with her father in the 
study. Charlotte, keeping guard in the hall, 
could not help being amused by the half sentences 
she heard through the closed door. 

“ Revolutions ! ” “ Been in Portugal.? ” “ Been 
in Russia.? ” “ Where hasn’t she been? ” “ What, 
a Nihilist.? ” “ No.? ” “ What does she want? ” 

“ Nonsense, why didn’t you tell me before that she 
was crazy? ” “ Not crazy? She must be. Has 

looked queer for some time. I’ve noticed it.” 
“ Where is Blanche? ” Then, after something in- 
audible whispered in his ear by his daughter, 
“ You shouldn’t have trusted them together. But 
I don’t blame you, Kitty; you couldn’t cope with 
that woman. We mustn’t have her round. But 
Blanche — ” 

And when her uncle, absolutely pale with fright, 
burst out of the room, Charlotte for the first time 
in her life felt an anxiety that was really painful. 

In another moment Emeline walked solemnly 
in. 

“ Uncle Jonathan,” she said, close to her uncle’s 


166 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


ear, “ Miss Nye says Miss Eslin and Blanche left 
her at about five o’clock, walking towards home. 
I met Roger coming here on the way back. May 
he come in.? Do you mind? ” 

‘‘No; Roger, come right in!” and Roger en- 
tered with a look of anxious uncertainty on his 
good natured face. “ Roger, have you heard ? 
That insane woman has run oflP with our little 
Blanche.” 

“ O father, don’t say that 1 ” exclaimed Kather- 
ine. “ They may come back any minute.” 

“ No, they won’t come now, after nine o’clock. 
If they haven’t run off, something must have hap- 
pened to them.” 

“ I wouldn’t be so anxious, sir,” shouted Roger 
cheerfully, and there was something in his voice 
which gave fresh heart to the three ladies. “ First 
place, I don’t think Miss Eslin crazy at all, at 
least only about one thing. If she has taken 
Blanche off, I don’t see that she can do her any 
harm. When they find out it’s just a scare, they’ll 
turn round and come back again.” 

“ But we must go to work, Roger ; would you 
mind finding out if they went off by the five-twenty- 
five to Boston? ” 

“ Not at all, sir; I’ll go right off. And mayn’t 
I stop on my way back and ask father and mother 
to come up here? ” 

“ Yes, do so, Roger,” said Mr. Gassett ; but his 
daughter added, 

“ 0 Roger, we mustn’t say anything to any one 


A FLIGHT INTO DARKNESS 167 


else. Try to find out about them without men- 
tioning names. You know we couldn’t bear to 
have Blanche in the papers or made public in any 
way.” 

“ Yes, but Roger,” broke in Mr. Gassett, “ do 
you know anything about private detectives and 
such things ? ” 

‘‘ Yes, sir, I know of a good agency in Boston. 
If you like I’ll notify them tonight, if we can’t 
find out anything ourselves.” And as Roger left 
the house, the girls felt that he had suddenly grown 
ten years older than they were. 

No sooner had he gone than their quick ears de- 
tected an added bustle in the kitchen wing, and 
Vesta Prendergast burst in. 

“Well, Kitty!” she exclaimed excitedly, “I 
guess you are worried ! Well, one person has 
come home. Here’s Mabel ! ” 

“Mabel! Let her come in , immediately ,” and 
Mabel Lowe entered, as always the quiet and def- 
erential lady’s maid. 

“ Where’s Blanche ? ” demanded Mr. Gassett, 
who never put handles onto the girls’ names. 

“ I think she has probably gone to Canada, 
sir.” 

“ What ? I can’t hear.” 

“ Mabel,” said Katherine seriously, “ you know 
we are very anxious about Miss Eslin and Miss 
Blanche. Will you sit next to Mr. Gassett and 
tell him plainly all you know.?^ ” 

“ Yes, ma’am.” 


CHAPTER XV 


THE DESERTED 

Mabel took the post assigned her and the anx- 
ious company gathered round to listen. 

“ Do not be anxious, sir, I think Miss Blanche 
and Miss Eslin are perfectly safe, though I am 
afraid they have gone.” 

“ Then the woman’s crazy ! ” exclaimed Mr. 
Gassett. 

“ No, sir,” said Mabel distinctly, “ begging your 
pardon, sir, considering what she thought, she’s 
acted quite sensible. She was told there was to be 
a revolution, — ” Mr. Gassett gave a growl of 
mingled anxiety and contempt. “ She’s been 
thinking there’d be one for some time, from some- 
thing Mr. Benning said, — ” Mr. Gassett’s growl 
was now expressive of supreme contempt, — “ and 
things she found out from other people. She was 
so sure that this country was unsafe and had so 
much to say about what she’d seen in other coun- 
tries that I thought at first she was right, but 
when I could look round for myself, it seemed to 
me that everything was safe here, and when I 
asked people about it, they seemed to think I was 
so strange-like that I thought I wouldn’t ask any 
more. I didn’t want to be thought simple. I’ve 
168 


THE DESERTED 169 

been sure for some time that there wasn’t any dan- 
ger.” 

“ Then why didn’t you tell her so? ” asked 
Katherine. “ Don’t say it wasn’t your place ! If 
you had more judgment and sense than poor Miss 
Eslin, and she was so unhappy, you should have 
tried to explain things to her, or told us about it.” 

“ Yes, ma’am, but she thought she knew a great 
deal more than I did. She speaks so many lan- 
guages and I only English, and I never travelled 
before, ma’am. She thought I’d no experience. 
But I’ve been thinking for a while that perhaps 
she didn’t quite understand what was said to her, 
or that she just asked people questions, and they 
said ‘ yes ’ because they didn’t understand her. 
And she read so much she was all puzzled-like. I 
didn’t think there was going to be any revolution, 
but I wanted to find out for sure. I didn’t like to 
ask any one here, knowing she wouldn’t like it, and 
that you might think me foolish. I thought I 
would go to Crossbrook. You know, ma’am, I 
met General Rolby one Sunday when I went to 
church there, and he said I could sit in his pew, 
and he spoke to the rector, clergyman, I should 
say, about me. I thought I would walk over and 
ask Mr. Isdale, or General Rolby himself. I 
thought having been a military gentleman he would 
be in the way of knowing about government and 
such things. So when I found Miss Eslin and 
Miss Blanche hadn’t come back, I laid out their 
things so they couldn’t really miss me and started 


170 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


to walk. Perhaps it was wrong of me, but — ” 
“ And you walked all the way to Crossbrook.?^ ” 
“ Yes, ma’am. Mr. Isdale was out, but General 
Rolby was in, and when I told him I wanted, if he 
would be so good, to ask his advice as a stranger, 
he said ‘ All right.’ He wouldn’t hear at first 
when I told about the revolution. He said Miss 
Eslin must be a lunatic and it wasn’t safe to have 
her round Miss Blanche. But when I told him that 
she had been in Portugal and all that, he listened 
very kindly and said that I might sleep at night 
without any worrying; that there was less danger 
of a revolution here than in any part of the globe. 

“ When I told him so many foreigners here made 
me anxious, he said that if they made any real 
trouble there were Americans enough left to drive 
them all into the Atlantic Ocean, but if the govern- 
ment were attacked, the foreigners themselves 
would be the first to defend itr He said I must go 
right back and tell you and Mr. Gassett all about 
Miss Eslin and that she needed watching. He 
took me part of the way with some horses that 
went very fast, or I should have been later than I 
am.” 

“ And are you sure they have gone to Canada ? ” 
“ No, ma’am, not to say sure, but Miss Eslin 
often spoke to me lately of how they might have 
to go there in a hurry. I meant to tell you all 
about it if she really started to go, but I didn’t 
think of her going today, it would be so late after 
going to the dressmaker’s. She made me keep 


THE DESERTED 


171 


some of Miss Blanche’s and her clothes together in 
a small steamer trunk. She told me to put some 
things of mine in, too, but I took mine out every 
night. Then she got three handbags for us each 
to carry a few things in, in case we should be sep- 
arated. Perhaps I had better go upstairs and 
see if they are there.” 

Miss Lowe went calmly up the back stairs with 
the air of one who knew her business. Worried 
as they were, it was impossible for Katherine and 
Charlotte to keep from half a smile at the idea of 
the steamer trunk and the three handbags, and at 
Mr. Gassett’s wonder and indignation when he was 
told about them. But all were recalled to a 
proper sense of the situation when Roger returned 
with his father and mother. Their generally 
cheerful faces wore an air of the deepest gloom, 
and Mrs. Collamore, after a whispered greeting 
to her friend Katherine, almost made Charlotte 
hysterical by pressing her hand and taking a chair 
in silence as if she were at a funeral. 

Roger had made inquiries as carefully as he 
could at the station. He had satisfied himself that 
the missing ones had not left Nomono by any 
train; but, to add to the mystery, Lowe came 
downstairs announcing that both the steamer trunk 
and Miss Blanche’s and Miss Eslin’s separate bags 
were missing. This seemed like witchcraft. How 
could the trunk have got downstairs without 
hands.? The fugitives never could or would have 
carried it themselves. Bridget and Vesta had 




A SUMMER SIEGE 


seen nobody coming or going from the house, but 
then they had been sitting some distance off in the 
shady corner of the woodshed, and the doors of the 
house were unlocked, as usual in the daytime. 

“ If I were sure,” said Katherine, who related 
the substance of her morning talk with Miss Eslin, 
“ sure that they had gone somewhere in Canada, 
I should not be so anxious, but — and we want to 
keep everything so quiet on Blanche’s account.” 

“ Well,” said Mr. Collamore bluntly, “ if they 
don’t come home tonight either you’re going to 
hunt for them or you aren’t. If you are, I’ve no 
faith in your doing it without publicity. People 
can’t disappear altogether without questions be- 
ing asked. Why, to begin with, every woman in 
your house knows about it. Do you expect them 
all to hold their tongues.? There’s the telephone 
now ! ” 

“ I’ll answer it, Kitty,” said Mrs. Collamore, 
glad of a chance to be of some use. 

She returned in a moment to announce sol- 
emnly, 

“ General Rolby would like to talk with one of 
the family. He says he has had a most extraor- 
dinary talk with one of the maids.” 

“ There ! ” said Mr. Collamore, “ he knows some- 
thing, too. Well, let me telephone him to keep 
quiet and come over here tomorrow. Then we’ll 
be a strong team.” 

“ Couldn’t we tell our friends,” said Katherine, 
when Mr. Collamore returned, “ that Miss Eslin 


THE DESERTED 


173 


and Blanche have gone for a little while to Can- 
ada? I hope it’s the truth, and in the meantime 
we can be making inquiries.” 

“ I don’t care how we do it, as long as we find 

them, ” said Mr. Gassett, to whom the plans were 
explained. “ The woman isn’t safe. Blanche 
never would have run off by herself. She’s a good 
little girl.” 

“ We’ll get her back, my friend,” said Mr. Col- 
lamore emphatically. “ Roger knows all about 
some detectives. They can find out anything.” 

“ Yes, you and Roger will manage it,” said Mr. 
Gassett. His voice trembled, and Katherine felt 
for the first time that her father, who had always 
been so strong and resourceful, was now an old 
man. 

“We may be too late,” he added with a shudder; 

then, when no one would listen for a moment to any 
such view, “ Well, Kitty, go out to the kitchen and 
tell them all to keep quiet.” 

Katherine went sadly. All her life she had been 
accustomed to perfect openness in her household 
affairs. Their neighbors had always known all 
about them. There was no skeleton in the Gassett 
cupboard, nor any closet that was not properly 
aired and cleaned. When, with tears in her eyes, 
she explained the present trouble and the course 
they meant to follow to the three inhabitants of 
the kitchen, for Agda had now returned, she met 
with a ready sympathy which she was sure was not 
assumed. Bridget repeated, “ Poor lady ! Poor 


174 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


lady ! The blessed saints presarve us ! ” while 
Vesta and Agda had private detective plans of 
their own. 

Katherine returned to her father, whom, as it 
was now midnight, she tried to persuade to go to 
bed. At any rate there was no use in Charlotte 
and Emeline sitting up, and upstairs they were 
sent. Mr. Collamore and Roger promised that 
there would be some plans formed to tell them in 
the morning. 

“ Well,” said Charlotte, when the sisters were 
in their room, “ this is all Miss Eslin’s petting 
amounts to ! ‘ My little Emeline ! ’ ‘ My darling 

child!’ Now she’s gone off and left you to the 
guillotine I ” 

Emeline drew in her breath with a long sigh. 
She would have been blind indeed if she had not 
seen that she was the favorite of the governess, 
and it was mortifying to find of how little im- 
portance she really was. But she was more than 
mortified, she was shocked and disgusted. She had 
not always understood Miss Eslin or agreed with 
her in matters of taste, but she had never expected 
Miss Eslin or any one else to behave in so heart- 
less a manner. 

“ And Blanche,” she exclaimed, “ I don’t see how 
she could do so ! ” 

“ I do,” said Charlotte promptly. “ I always 
thought Blanche was a heartless goose, but I never 
said so, because it would have sounded so horrid. 
I never thought she cared a pin for any of us, even 


THE DESERTED 


175 


for Uncle Jonathan; but I thought Miss Eslin 
did, a little. Emmie, it’s a comfort that you and 
I have some feelings and some sense, for I see that 
sense is a good thing to have in this world. But 
now I’ve an idea. Let’s go into the schoolroom 
and see if we can’t discover some clue. We may 
find a note or something somewhere.” 

They stole into the room lately occupied by the 
missing ones. They found no note, and every- 
thing looked so natural and yet so strange and de- 
serted at this late hour that they dared not pry 
any further than to open the drawer of the school- 
room table. On it was Miss Eslin’s work basket 
with some pretty embroidery on white muslin that 
she had been showing to Emeline. Her posses- 
sions always had an air of ladylike neatness, and 
were arranged with a certain elaboration natural 
to one who had lived where there was constant 
service. It was strange indeed to think that she 
had deserted them so hastily. Blanche’s room had 
been put in order by Mabel. The nightdress which 
had been laid out had disappeared, with the even- 
ing frock that she was to wear. The aspect of 
the whole room was that of one whose occupant 
had left it for a very long journey. 

The girls looked solemnly about for a moment, 
then retreated to their own room. The lights were 
still burning below as they crossed the hall, then 
in a moment they were out, and Uncle Jonathan’s 
heavy tread was heard on the hall staircase, ac- 
companied by Cousin Kate’s pleading voice. There 


176 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


was a pause as the old man reached his bedroom 
door, then there was a sound like a long- 
drawn sob which cut both girls to the heart and 
made them feel as if the foundations of the earth 
were being removed. Too awestruck for another 
word, they made the best of their way to bed. 


CHAPTER XVI 


FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE 

It seemed strange to the girls to wake up the 
next morning to find the household routine run- 
ning as usual, the market man and postman com- 
ing, and breakfast ready. But everything was 
really different. Instead of Miss Eslin and 
Blanche, a place at the table had been set for 
Mrs. Collamore, who had insisted on spending the 
night and now waited on the others in a subdued 
manner. There was no general conversation. Un- 
cle Jonathan looked pale and said almost noth- 
ing. Before the meal was over there was a ring 
at the front door and Roger entered quietly. 

“ Father had to go to the bank,” he announced 
under his breath ; “ people would think it strange 
if he didn’t, but the general has come, and — ” 

Who the last comers were was not clear, but the 
girls had a sensation as if an undertaker had en- 
tered the house. Mr. Gassett was up and in the 
library in a moment. Cousin Kate and Mrs. Col- 
lamore followed. The girls were not asked to 
come too, and after tidying their room, thought 
the best thing they could do was to cut flowers in 
the garden, where in a short time they were joined 
by Roger. 


177 


178 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ Roger William,’’ demanded Charlotte, “ who 
are those dreadful people, and how did they get 
here so quickly? ” 

“ I telephoned for them last night and they 
came by the night train.” 

“ But, Rod,” Charlotte could not conceal a cer- 
tain amazement, “ how did you know how to do it? 
And how did you know about them? ” 

“ Well, you see. Kit Severance had his watch and 
a lot of things stolen from his room, he thought, 
and as the Cambridge police couldn’t find out 
about them, he got these people.” 

“ And I suppose they just looked round the 
room, and saw all sorts of clues no one had noticed, 
and found everything right off, just like magic.” 

“ No,” said the truthful Roger, “ they never 
found anything. We always thought anyway 
that Kit dropped his watch going into the theatre 
and lost the other things somehow. He always is 
losing his things. But these people are thought 
the best going for this sort of thing, and anyway 
the old lady and Blanche are bigger than watches 
and studs. Any detectives can find out easier and 
quicker than we could if they’re anywhere in Can- 
ada. Cousin Kate thinks it would be dreadful if 
it got out that we were hunting Blanche with de- 
tectives, so they are going to keep it all dark. 
Everything they want to send out can be ’phoned 
to their headquarters in Boston by the private wire 
in the factory office, so we needn’t send telegrams 
from this house.” 


FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE 179 


“ How exciting, Roger ; like a real revolution, 
isn’t it? But if there was going to be one, just 
think how stupid they would be to miss it ! Emmie 
and I wouldn’t have been so silly. You’d enjoy a 
revolution, you know you would, Emmie; you like 
a football game even better than I do. You’ve a 
natural turn for the heroic. 

Oh, blame her not ! The blood was hers 
That at the trumpet’s summons stirs.’ 

Now you don’t know. Rod, what that’s from.” 

“ Look here, Lottie, this is going to be a serious 
business. Maybe we can keep it quiet, but a girl 
can’t behave the way Blanche has, running off so, 
without there being something to pay. Anyway, 
I’m afraid it will knock up Uncle Jonathan. 
Father and I thought it would be better to wait 
for a letter, or till we could get at Cousin Archie. 
We telegraphed to him in New York last night, 
but he’d gone on a visit somewhere, up the Hud- 
son, they thought. He’s coming here in a little 
while. But all Uncle Jonathan will agree to is 
that he’ll wait a while before sending any news to 
England. He won’t wait a minute for Cousin 
Archie, he’s so afraid of something happening to 
Blanche.” 

“ What could happen to her? ” 

“ Anything, I suppose, if the old lady’s really 
crazy.” 

“ Oh, I know, Roger, I know it’s perfectly 
dreadful, and Emmie and I are going to be heroines, 


180 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


but I’ve got to do it in my own way, and I can’t 
help talking. I’m so mad with Blanche I don’t 
know what to do ; that helps to keep me up. But I 
won’t feel that way if Uncle Jonathan feels it so 
terribly. I’ll suspend my judgment, as Miss Wil- 
marth used to say when she didn’t know what girls 
had been throwing notes over the wall. But you 
know I had a letter from Egbert. Ought I to 
show it to those people.? And he wrote letters to 
Miss Eslin and Blanche, too.” 

“ Yes, they opened them. Those fellows say it’s 
all right to do it when people run off without 
leaving any address. They’re going all through 
Miss Eslin’s papers, but they don’t find much. 
Lowe says that she tore up and burnt a lot of old 
letters before she went away. Rotten Eggs’s 
letters, though, were real good; he owned up fair 
and square and explained everything up to date. 
It’s a shame thej^ didn’t see them. Blanche’s let- 
ter was like a real history.” 

Charlotte was secretly pleased to think that her 
letter from Egbert wasn’t at all like a history. 
She showed it to Roger, whose only comment was, 
“ Just like Rotten Eggs ! ” He was of the opin- 
ion that it threw no light at all on the present 
whereabouts of the fugitives. 

“ They’ve telegraphed him, though,” he said ; 
“ they thought he might know something of where 
the old lady and Blanche would be likely to go. 
I asked them if they couldn’t word it a little 
blindly. I knew if he got a wire at Halifax, ‘ Miss 


FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE 181 


M. M. E. and B. G. have disappeared, where have 
they gone? ’ he’d never hear the last of it from Kit 
and Russ.” 

“ I should think not,” said Charlotte, her eyes 
brightening again, while Roger could not help 
yawning. 

“ Were you awake all night, Roger? ” asked 
Emeline anxiously. 

“ Most of it,” said Roger, yawning again. 

“ You ought to take a nap.” 

“ Yes, I’m going home now. I’ll lie down on 
the sofa right by the ’phone, and I guess I’ll wake 
if I’m called up.” 

He lay down to rest, with corslet laced, 
Pillowed on buckler cold and hard,’ ” 

began Charlotte, but as Roger left Mabel Lowe 
came towards them. Would the young ladies, es- 
pecially Miss Emeline, come into the library? 

As solemnly as if she were under oath in a court 
of justice, poor little Emeline gave her testimony, 
which after all amounted to very little. Some 
weeks ago Miss Eslin had told her of the experi- 
ences in Europe, but she had never mentioned 
them since. She had never spoken to either of the 
girls of her wish to go to Canada ; it was Blanche 
who had told them of her governess’s fears. The 
detective gentlemen had been sure at first of Miss 
Eslin’s insanity, but, except for Miss Gassett’s 
and Miss Lowe’s testimony, very little transpired 
to show that she was even an eccentric person. 


182 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


They began to feel that they had been somewhat 
hastily called. The ladies had only been gone one 
night ; surely a letter might be expected from them 
the next day. It was a very common thing, the 
bewildered family were assured with authority by 
the chief detective, for people of all ages, “ of the 
most respectable families,” to disappear without 
notifying their friends and return all right when 
they were ready. 

Katherine agreed with the detectives. The 
more she thought over the matter, the more she 
shrank from any publicity; while her father, the 
only one who seemed to have a real fear of some- 
thing terrible being involved in his granddaugh- 
ter’s disappearance, was willing to take any meas- 
ures and go to any lengths, to get her back. The 
old man had pulled himself together after last 
night’s shock. He had shared Charlotte’s opinion 
as to the supernatural cleverness of detectives and 
was disappointed that they had hardly any more 
suggestions to offer than what he could have 
thought of for himself. A thorough business man 
in training, he had procured a pile of time-tables 
and guide books, and soon had every possible 
route to Canada clear in his mind. He now sat at 
the library table, correcting the detectives in any 
little mistake about trains, and insisting on fully 
understanding every one of their plans. On the 
other side of the table sat General Rolby, with his 
keen face and upright bearing, and between two 
such vigorous old stagers it was no wonder that 


FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE 183 


the young detectives felt themselves somewhat 
superfluous. 

Emeline soon escaped and sadly busied herself 
in arranging the flower vases. She was in the hall 
when the front door opened without a ring and 
Miss Marvin entered with a large bunch of wild 
flowers in her hand. 

“ I thought you’d be in the schoolroom, Em- 
mie,” she said cheerfully, “ but perhaps it isn’t 
time yet. Where is Miss Eslin.?^ I’ve brought 
her some cardinal flowers like those she admired 
on the Crossbrook road. Wouldn’t she like to 
walk with me there late this afternoon and get 
some more? ” 

The thought flashed upon Emeline that Miss 
Hope wasn’t the only person who had the right to 
enter their house without knocking. How could 
they ever keep their secret? 

“ I will speak to Cousin Kate,” she said gravely. 
“ Please sit down in the parlor.” 

“ Why, Emmie, what’s the matter? Darling 
child, is any one ill ? ” 

“ I will speak to Cousin Kate,” repeated Em- 
mie, thinking how unjust it was of Lottie to say 
that she would like revolutions, for she seemed to 
herself to be remarkably poor as an actor. 

Katherine, when summoned, appeared, for seeing 
such a friend comforted her. Miss Hope, when 
told the secret, longed, like Mrs. Collamore, to be 
of use, but there seemed little left to do. She 
took home a letter found among Miss Eslin’s pa- 


184 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


pers, as she was the only one who could read the 
German script in which it was written. She stud- 
ied it long, but could make nothing of it. The 
writing was not the difficulty, that was plain 
enough, but it was in some terribly hard cipher. 
The detectives seized upon it, as perhaps an im- 
portant clue, but though they took it to Boston, 
none of their experts could succeed where Miss 
Marvin had failed. 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE TRAIL OF THE MISSING 

A week had passed by, bringing no news of the 
fugitives or the slightest clue as to their fate. 
The detectives at first had treated it as a simple, 
common case, but it had proved an unexpectedly 
difficult one. No ladies whose appearance corre- 
sponded to the descriptions of Miss Eslin and 
Blanche had been reported, together or singly, 
from any Canadian route. Perhaps the whole 
idea of a refuge in Canada had been a misleading 
one, and time had been lost in going so far afield 
which had been better spent in searching the 
woods and dragging the ponds in the neighbor- 
hood. It was doubtful if the search, if it were to 
be efficient, could be kept a secret much longer, 
and nothing but the entreaties of his daughter 
kept Mr. Gassett from sending a cable message to 
England, telling the sad news and requesting the 
immediate presence of his son John. 

Showers of telegrams were sent after Mr. 
Archie Gassett, who had left New York, expecting 
to travel about before appearing at Nomono for 
his summer visit. Mr. Collamore, who had been 
working overtime to despatch all his bank business 
that he might go on a well earned vacation, tele- 
185 


186 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


graphed to the Moosigoosic Club in Maine that 
he was detained at home by urgent business. 
Neither he nor his wife would think of deserting 
their old friend in such an emergency. 

But, strangely enough, though so many were in 
the secret and strangers were coming and going, 
day and night, from the Gassett House, the No- 
mono people in general never seemed even to guess 
at there being any mystery. It amazed Charlotte 
and Emeline to leave Uncle Jonathan tortured 
with helpless anxiety and Cousin Kate constantly 
trying to keep up and comfort him, and then walk 
the streets and meet their neighbors as if nothing 
whatever had happened. Rumor is like a smoul- 
dering fire ; no one can predict when it will blaze 
up or when it will die away. It did not spread 
now among those of the Gassetts’ friends who were 
not away on summer vacations. No one thought 
it at all strange that Blanche had gone to Canada 
with her governess, and it seemed to arouse no sus- 
picions in those who asked about her when the an- 
swers were short and evasive. It was generally 
Charlotte who was deputed to represent the fam- 
ily in public. Much as she talked and laughed, 
she had the faculty, of which neither her sister nor 
cousin had a particle, of being able to act a part. 
She would try to rehearse hers before the glass. 

“ Emmie,” she said, “ look at me ! Is this the 
proper expression for a girl whose cousin has run 
away on the eve of a terrible revolution, but who 
won’t desert her aged uncle, and is determined to 


THE TRAIL OF THE MISSING 187 


deceive herself and others into a false security? 
Is that smile too broad? Don’t look so yourself! 
You’re enough to bring on a revolution with that 
expression. If you had lectured them for two 
hours every day on American history, illustrated 
by your museum, as I wanted you to, this 
wouldn’t have happened.” 

“O Lottie I” 

“ Well, let’s put on our dotted muslins and look 
nice. I know it makes some difference to Uncle 
Jonathan. ‘ Assume a virtue, if you have it not.’ 
See how I can quote Shakespeare! Now smile 
while I braid your hair.” 

When the girls wished to look particularly nice 
they always braided each other’s hair. Emeline 
sat down and Charlotte continued: 

“ Everyone expects me to work because I’m 
cheerful. They called me just now to a council 
of war in the kitchen. Vesta says a light has been 
seen at evening in the cellar of the old town hall; 
she is sure Miss Eslin is hiding there and I must 
speak about it. Agda says a cousin of hers saw a 
golden haired girl stumbling as she got out of a 
subway car in Boston; she thinks it must be 
Blanche, apparently because the girl didn’t know 
enough to walk. I asked how long ago it was and 
what became of her, and Agda said the detectives 
ought to find at least that much out. But Brid- 
get, now she has waked up, is the most brilliant of 
all. She thinks Miss Eslin has fled to Ireland, as 
the safest place in the world, of course, where she 


188 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


can support herself by making Irish lace. Before 
going she put Blanche in a convent, and Father 
Cassidy can find her for us, if we confide in him.” 

The girls went downstairs, both as fresh as 
daisies, and even Emeline looking passably cheer- 
ful. At the table, where the faithful Roger was 
the only guest, Charlotte was really the only one 
who could keep up a running conversation on 
every day matters, though Cousin Kate made pa- 
thetic efforts to be cheerful. Katherine’s own 
eyes were red and she looked tired ; no wonder, for 
while she had made the girls keep to their usual 
hours, she had never gone to bed herself till her 
father was safe in his room, and had been up be- 
fore him every morning. 

The front door was fast closed, as it usually 
was now, a change indeed from the old free way of 
living, but as they left the table they heard the 
turn of a latchkey and a gentleman entered who 
might have been called young, though he had the 
competent air of a man of affairs. 

“ Archie ! ” exclaimed his sister Katherine. 

Mr. Archie Gassett greeted his father and sister 
and looked approvingly at his pretty young cous- 
ins. 

‘‘ So Blanche has left you,” he said. 

“ Did you get our last telegram.? ” asked Kath- 
erine breathlessly. 

“Telegrams.? No, I didn’t get any. I cut 
across the country from the Hudson to Lenox, 
and then came on here in a friend’s auto. I 


THE TRAIL OF THE MISSING 189 


wanted to get rid of business for a while. What’s 
the matter, Kitty ? Are you worried about 
Blanche.? I wouldn’t have let her go off there, 
and I think she might have waited to see me, but 
perhaps she’s coming back soon.” 

“ Are you telling Archie all about it, Kitty ? ” 
asked Mr. Gassett. 

“ Archie,” said Katherine, “ tell us, tell us, if 
you know anything! And what have you got 
with you? ” 

Katherine turned almost faint as her brother 
produced from his pocket a cheap looking news- 
paper. Mr. Gassett eagerly held out his hand for 
it and looked at a paragraph his son pointed out. 
With a gesture, he invited his daughter and any 
one else who chose to look over his shoulder, so 
that nearly all present read: 

“ Society News. Summer Resorts. Bannister 
Bay, Quebec. 

** Among the latest arrivals here from the States 
is the beautiful young heiress. Miss Blanche Gassett, 
granddaughter of the Honorable Jonathan Gassett, 
of Nomono, Massachusetts. Miss Gassett is partly 
of English blood, her mother being one of the two 
famous and beautiful coheiresses of the late Sir 
Humphrey Glanvil, the other being her aunt. Lady 
Dorwych, wife of Baron Dorwych, late of the Brit- 
ish foreign office. Miss Gassett’s fortune, princi- 
pally inherited from her mother, is said to run into 
millions of pounds. She is a beautiful blonde, with 
auburn hair and a brilliant English complexion. She 


190 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


is an expert tennis player and a bold and dashing 
rider, exciting great admiration when she appears 
on horseback. Of course she receives great attention 
from the representatives of the Canadian four hun- 
dred, among whom are — " 

and here followed a long list of strange names. 

Archie Gassett had hardly intended to produce 
the paper at once. He knew it would shock the 
family at Nomono, with their old fashioned ideas 
of privacy and propriety, but when his sister cov- 
ered her face with her hands and burst into an 
almost hysterical fit of sobbing, he thought her 
horror was really more than the occasion de- 
manded. Mr. Gassett, after an inaudible excla- 
mation, said nothing, but studied the paper with a 
set face. 

“ Don’t feel so badly, Kitty,” said her brother, 
looking at his relations with some amazement ; “ of 
course the ‘ Spyglass ’ is a trashy cheap sort of 
paper, but it’s generally good natured, and no one 
believes half it says, anyway. I was rather sur- 
prised when I came across it. I thought John 
wouldn’t like it, having Blanche in print, but it’s 
nothing to feel so very terribly about.” 

“ O Archie,” said Katherine, through her tears, 
“ do you think it’s true.? I should be thankful if 
it were ! If Blanche is alive and well, I don’t care 
if she is in all the papers from Maine to Califor- 
nia ! ” 

“ Do you mean to say you didn’t know where 
she was ? How did she get there anyway ? ” 


THE TRAIL OF THE MISSING 191 


“ I don’t know, Archie. Lottie dear, you tell 
him about it. I can’t.” 

“ Cousin Archie,” said Charlotte distinctly, 
“ Miss Eslin and Blanche left us last Monday, a 
week ago. They never said good-bye to us, and 
we don’t know where they went.” 

“ What ! What do you mean, Lottie ? Did 
they run away ? ” 

“ Yes, I should call it so. Cousin Archie.” 

“ But what in the world should Blanche act so 
for.? She always seemed a very nice child when I 
saw her in England. And that Miss Eslin, Lady 
Dorwych thought she had found a perfect treas- 
ure in her, very highly recommended, both in Eng- 
land and on the Continent.” 

“ She thought there was going to be a revolu- 
tion here,” said Charlotte calmly. “ She wished 
to put herself and Blanche under the protection 
of the British flag.” 

“ Lottie, what do you talk such nonsense for ? ” 
began her cousin, but a glance at his father and 
his sister was enough to show him that there was 
really something painfully serious to learn, and 
he listened silently to Charlotte’s story. She took 
a fair share of blame to herself for Blanche’s 
fears, but the more extraordinary the matter, the 
more calm and demure was her manner of telling 
it. Cousin Archie’s amazement was such he 
hardly knew how to express himself. 

The others heard the now sadly familiar sound 
of the telephone bell. Roger answered it. While 


192 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


he was exultantly informed from the detectives’ 
headquarters that the ladies were found, they 
would forward at once a copy of the “ Manhattan 
Spyglass,” there was a ring at the front door and 
General Rolby entered, holding up in triumph a 
copy of the same detestable sheet. There was a 
confusion of voices in which all but Mr. Gassett 
joined. He did not speak till he rose suddenly. 

“ Kitty,” he said, “ pack up your things. We’ll 
start for Quebec by the night train. I see how it 
is. She’s there with those Meecoms who were 
staying at the Inn here. They are among the ar- 
rivals lower down. I suppose that woman. Miss 
Eslin, is there, too ; I won’t have Blanche left with 
her a minute. We’ll connect with a boat down the 
St. Lawrence tomorrow afternoon. I know all 
about it.” 

All the startled company united to persuade the 
old man not to undertake the long and sudden 
journey. His son promised to go instead, and, 
as Katherine suggested, take Mabel Lowe with 
him. They would immediately bring Blanche 
back, leaving Miss Eslin to take the first steamer 
that sailed from Quebec to England. But Mr. 
Gassett heeded no remonstrance. Archie, if he 
wanted to, might come, too, but go he would him- 
self, whoever else went. General Rolby was the 
first to advise that his old friend should not 
be hindered in a plan on which his heart was set. 
To stay at home and worry would do him more 
harm than the journey could do. Katherine 


THE TRAIL OF THE MISSING 193 


could agree to this, but why not put it off one day, 
at least? They had always hoped for letters from 
the runaways and surely letters might come to- 
morrow. If they waited there would be time to 
telegraph to Bannister Bay and receive an answer. 

This plan did not suit Mr. Gassett at all. If a 
telegram were sent it might give “ that woman,” 
as he now always called Miss Eslin, warning, and 
she might carry Blanche off somewhere else. 
Katherine timidly suggested that if they feared 
that they might take one of the detectives with 
them. 

“ Those boys ! ” exclaimed Mr. Gassett in con- 
tempt. “ They don’t know anything ! ” 

All the old man’s vigor seemed to return with 
the prospect of action, and how keen he was ! He 
alone of all the company had noticed the names 
of the Meecoms among the list of arrivals at the 
Canadian resort, and had concluded that Blanche 
must be with them. 

Well, if Mr. Gassett would insist on going, Mr. 
Rolby’s horses were harnessed at the door and 
would carry the party to the station in time to 
catch the north bound train which left Nomono in 
an hour’s time. The ever useful Roger would run 
to the station and see if he could secure sleep- 
ing car accommodations. Katherine hurried up- 
stairs to pack a few indispensables for herself. 
Her father needed no help. He soon filled his 
worn russet-leather valise, which had seen good 
service in old times. Emmie helped her aunt. 


194 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


while Charlotte, who longed to be going too, ran 
to summon Mabel Lowe. 

“ 0 Mabel, they think they’ve found Miss Eslin 
and Miss Blanche in a place way off in Canada, 
up on the St. Lawrence. Can you get ready to 
go with Mr. Gassett and Miss Katherine right off 
this minute.? ” 

“ Yes, miss, certainly,” and when the hurried 
party met at the front door there was Miss Lowe 
in correct travelling costume, bag in hand. 

Cousin Kate kissed the girls and begged them 
to be prudent. General Rolby and the Colla- 
mores would look after them, and Julia would stay 
with them. 

“ And do, my dears, say nothing about that ri- 
diculous paper. People will soon forget about it. 
Keep everything secret while you can. Of course 
you may open all our letters, Lottie. Yes, father 
dear, I’m ready.” 

So great was the haste that Charlotte and Erne- 
line hardly realized what was happening till the 
general drove his party of four from the door, and, 
except for the maids, they found themselves alone 
in the large house. 

“ There, Emmie,” said Charlotte, when, after 
carefully seeing that the house was locked up, the 
girls found themselves at last in their room, 
“ what do you say to your pet’s conduct now ? ” 

“ O Lottie, don’t ! ” said Emmie, shrinking into 
herself. 

She was still less able than at first to defend 


THE TRAIL OF THE MISSING 195 


Miss Eslin. The distasteful publicity that might 
be brought upon them; the heartbreaking sus- 
pense that Uncle Jonathan had suffered, and the 
family with him ; the trouble and expense, all could 
be fairly laid at Miss Eslin’s door. Blanche they 
both regarded as a mere puppet in her governess’s 
hands. Poor Emmie now remembered with dis- 
gust the admiration Miss Eslin had expressed for 
Mrs. Meecom’s diamonds on the day of the picnic. 
It seemed an added proof that she and Blanche 
were with the Meecoms. 

“Well, I won’t say anything,” said Charlotte; 
“ even Shakespeare couldn’t express my feelings 
now. If Blanche is really safe, I can be as mad 
with her as I want to be. That’s one comfort. 
But, Emmie, we’ve got to be dreadfully careful 
and discreet. Tomorrow there may be detectives 
and reporters and nobody knows what coming to 
the house. Let’s plan what we’ll say to everyone.” 

Charlotte did a little planning, to which Erne- 
line, looking at her sister with “ wonder waiting 
eyes,” assented, before they went to their well 
earned rest. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


NEWS AT FIRST HAND 

They rose to an early breakfast, for, as Char- 
lotte said, they must carefully examine the morn- 
ing mail. 

“ Of course I’m housekeeper,” she remarked, 
“ but I shan’t interfere too much with Bridget and 
Agda.” 

It was a comfort when no one but Roger ap- 
peared. The party got off all right last night, 
he said, and this morning his father and mother 
had gone off, too. The days of Mr. Collamore’s 
holiday were slipping by, and, as Blanche was 
found, — “ Of course Uncle Jonathan will catch 
her,” said Roger, — they felt they were no longer 
needed. They had promptly left for Moosigoosic 
by the early train, laden down with fishing rods 
and tackle, for Mr. Collamore was a famous fisher- 
man. The girls would not be troubled by de- 
tectives ; that business was about played out, 
Roger guessed. Julia was left and would come 
and stay with them as soon as she had set matters 
right at home. Roger would stay with them, too, 
“ so that you can have a man in the house,” he ex- 
plained. He would take some of his meals with 
them, but, not to appear to be there all the time, 
196 


NEWS AT FIRST HAND 


197 


would forage for the others. There was no dan- 
ger of Roger ever starving in Nomono. He had 
only to walk down the High Street and choose 
where he would dine, for any house that was open 
would be proud to welcome him. Charlotte in- 
vited him now to breakfast, an especially good one, 
as Bridget outdid herself to show her zeal for the 
family in their time of stress. After breakfast 
came the morning mail, not an unusually large 
one. 

“ There, I knew they’d write ! ” exclaimed Char- 
lotte, with a little scream. “ Cousin Kate was 
right. Just see this postmark and a Canadian 
stamp, ‘ Bannister Bay.’ It’s from Blanche ! ” 

“ Well, I thought she’d write when she got 
ready,” said Roger calmly. 

“ Just listen to this ! You’ve got to hear. Rod,” 
as Roger rose as if the letter were no business of 
his. “ You and Emmie are the council of war 
now.” 

“ Dear Lottie, 

“ I was awfully sorry to go away in such a hurry. 
It seemed quite nasty of me, but I suppose Miss Eslin 
has explained it all to you — ” 

‘‘What are you at, Lottie.? Do you mean to 
say Miss Eslin isn’t with her.? ” 

“ How should I know about their wicked plans. 
Rod.? Now you’ve got to hear, for there may be 
more mysteries still. I’ll go on.” 

“ She was very anxious that I should go when the 


198 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


Meecoms called and told us they were going to Can- 
ada in their motor. Of course I wouldn’t have gone 
if I had really thought that I was leaving you in 
danger. I think I have been the one in danger, for 
the roads were perfectly horrible most of the way, 
and the bridges so shaky in northern New Hampshire, 
which is a perfect wilderness. I am sure we all 
came near being killed several times, besides being 
nearly starved, for we could hardly get anything fit 
to eat. It is strange that most of America is still so 
uncivilized.” 

“ They must have crossed the border in the 
auto,” said Roger, who was now listening atten- 
tively. “ That’s why we couldn’t trace them on 
any of the regular routes. Go on, Lottie. Em- 
mie, you listen, too,” for Emmie had opened a let- 
ter of her own in which she was absorbed, as she 
held it in a nervous grip. 

“ I didn’t like to be so much indebted to the Mee- 
coms. David was not about, so their chauffeur 
brought my trunk downstairs, but I really think Mrs. 
Meecom likes to have me under her care. She is not 
quite the gentlewoman and talks more than I like 
about my grandfather in England having been a 
baronet.” 

“ Ridiculous woman ! ” exclaimed Charlotte, in- 
terrupting herself, “ she’d better have thought a 
little about Blanche’s grandfather living in Amer- 
ica. I hope Uncle Jonathan will settle with her 
when he gets to Bannister Bay, and, as for 
Blanche, I won’t say what I hope he’ll do to her ! ” 


NEWS AT FIRST HAND 


199 


But I should not write anything against her, for 
she has been very kind to me. It is very gay here; 
the place is full and there are a good many nice peo- 
ple, including several gentlemen, not boys or old men, 
such as you have at Nomono — 

“ Now, Rod, that’s for you,” but Roger, un- 
disturbed, continued to listen calmly. 

“ Our accommodations are very poor. We are so 
crowded I am really glad that Lowe did not come, 
though it was very wrong of her to go away as she 
did without leave. Mrs. Meecom’s maid, a French- 
woman, takes much better care of me than she did. 

“ The Meecoms mean to go on to Mount McPherson 
this week. I suppose I had better go with them, 
though I begin to want to go back. Still I think I 
might just as well stay in Canada for the present, 
during the hot weather. I will write to Aunt Kate 
about it. I am writing by this mail to my grand- 
father. I hope he won’t think me remiss in not writ- 
ing before. I really have not had a minute to my- 
self. I will write soon to Miss Eslin, too. Please 
tell her so and give her any message you think proper. 
I suppose you are getting on very fast with your 
German without me. Now that Egbert has gone. 
Nomono must be so quiet you have plenty of time to 
study. 

I have not said a word to any one here about the 
revolution. I tried to ask one of the nicest gentle- 
men, a Mr. Montresor, some questions about the 
States. He was quite surprised that I took such an 
intelligent interest in public affairs, and knew so 
much about them, at my age. He told me a good 
deal about the Tariff, Custom Duties, I suppose. I 


200 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


am afraid, though I don’t believe in the revolution, 
that affairs in the States are a little unsettled. It 
seemed to make Mr. Montresor quite angry to talk 
about them. He said he wished that there was a 
tariff wall between Canada and the States, as high 
as the Chinese Wall. He told me a great deal be- 
sides, but it was so stupid I’ve forgotten it all. 

“ There are a great many more things I can tell 
you when we meet, only you know, Lottie, I never 
have much chance to talk when we are together. 

“ Give my love to Aunt Kate and Emmie, and be- 
lieve me, 

“ Your affectionate cousin, 

“ Blanche Helena Gassett.” 

Charlotte threw down the letter, her hand really 
trembling. 

“ Emmie, do you remember that night when we 
heard Uncle Jonathan almost crying? Were you 
there, Rod?” Roger nodded gravely. “Well, 
I’ll answer this. I’ll write a letter that will ‘ make 
mad the guilty and appall the free.’ ” 

“ I don’t see why you need answer it at all,” 
said Emmie, her rare color rising. “We needn’t 
have anything more to do with Blanche, if we are 
cousins.” 

“ We’ll have to. Uncle Jonathan will bring her 
home, and we might as well speak our minds first.” 

“ Oh, but, Lottie, you must hear my letter.” 

“ Let’s hear Blanche’s to Uncle Jonathan first,” 
said Roger, with judicial gravity. “ I suppose 
you’ll have to open it, Lottie.” 

“ ’Tisn’t worth reading,” said Charlotte, open- 


NEWS AT FIRST HAND 


201 


ing and glancing at the letter ; “ nothing new in it ; 
very short, pretty and proper, of course. O Em- 
mie, yours is from Miss Eslin! Shall I read it 
aloud.? ” 

“ You’ll have to,” said Roger. “ I never can 
get the hang of such a hand.” 

Charlotte took the letter written in an elegant 
pointed hand. 

“ Do you want me to read all this ? Roger, you 
must know that Miss Eslin is as sentimental as 
Blanche is silly. They are a well matched pair. 
There’s no place on it. It’s only dated ‘ August 
nineteenth.’ ” 

“ My darling little Emeline, 

“ I write to you because I believe you are the only 
one who will understand me and forgive the distress 
and anxiety that I fear I have caused you all. I 
trust no one has been too anxious about Blanche. She 
took note paper and stamps with her, and I charged 
her to write immediately to her grandfather ; that even- 
ing, if possible.” 

“ She might have known Blanche better,” inter- 
polated Charlotte, “ than to expect her to put 
herself out to write till she’d taken care of her- 
self. But this is all very mysterious. I’ll go 
on.” 

“ I need not say that I am very anxious about her 
myself, knowing that she is alone among people of 
whom we know so little. Could not Lowe be sent 
to her at once? That is, if Lowe returned safely 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


202 

that night. I do not know where she was and am 
afraid she was not at all careful where she went 
when by herself. But she is a very well meaning 
girl, and I believe would do her best if in a position 
of trust. 

“ I fear I did wrong and was unfaithful to my 
own trust in separating myself from Blanche, but 
when Mr. and Mrs. Meecom were so very kind as 
to ask us both to go with them so suddenly, I could 
not but accept for her. It was too great a tempta- 
tion, such an opportunity to have her safe in a part 
of the British Empire. 

“ The Meecoms had, I perceived, no more suspi- 
cions than your uncle of the dangers which threaten 
their class in America, but when they saw that I 
wished Blanche to be in Canada, for her health, as 
they thought, they promised me she should be across 
the border by noon on Tuesday last. 

“ I could not go with her. I could not bear the 
thought of being so far away from you, my darling 
child, and the family who had shown me so many 
kindnesses, especially your uncle, an old man of such 
noble character, and who so little deserves what may 
be his fate. I dared not stay in his house and face 
his anger. I felt it would be something terrible 
when he should realize that I had sent away his grand- 
daughter without his consent. 

“ I dared not go to the Pumpkin Inn, or to any 
nearby public house. I wanted to be concealed and 
yet near you ; so, though you may think it very strange 
and wild of me, I have come to the little house we 
visited together on the day you must surely remem- 
ber. It has evidently been unvisited since we dis- 
covered it. Write to me, dear child, if you can. I 


NEWS AT FIRST HAND 


203 


think it would be safe to direct a letter to the little 
wayside shop by the great tree, you will know where. 
I see there is a branch postoffice there. You might 
address me as ‘ Miss Seabury.’ I have been to the 
shop several times late in the afternoon to buy pro- 
visions, newspapers, and ink and paper. So many 
passers-by in motor cars stop there I do not think 
I have been specially noticed. 

“ I do not like to ask you to have any secrets from 
your uncle and Miss Gassett. They will probably 
find out from Blanche’s letters that I did not go to 
Canada. They will not know where I am, and will 
think it very strange of me, but if no one asks you, 
I do not think you are bound to tell what you know 
at present. I know it is of no use to warn any one. 
I can only say that if there should be any trouble 
I could receive any or all of you here. I need not 
tell you the way, which I believe no one could ever 
find but yourself. Though not far off, it is as safe 
a place, I am sure, as could be found. I have dis- 
covered a nearer way of reaching it, but you had 
better go by the old way. 

“ Perhaps you and Charlotte could, as children, es- 
cape some danger that might befall your uncle and 
cousin. If so, you must join me at once, secretly, 
if you can, and we would find some means of escaping 
from the country. 

“ I can post this at a wayside box. I fear to send 
it, but must run the risk. O my darling Emeline, you 
are in my thoughts all the time — ” 

“ I won’t read the rest. It’s all sentiment and 
nonsense about her feelings. Now, Emmie, what 
mischief have you been hatching with Miss Eslin, 


^04 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


and where is this mysterious house? Why didn’t 
you tell me about it? ” 

In as few words as possible and a trembling 
voice, Emeline described the lonely little deserted 
house which she had discovered with so much 
pleasure on the day of the picnic. 

“ O Lottie, I want to go there right off ! I 
don’t see how she has lived there all these days. 
There wasn’t any furniture or anything. It’s the 
lonesomest place ! I suppose she won’t like it that 
I showed you her letter, but I had to, for I couldn’t 
go there without telling you. Let me go alone 
and tell her everything’s all right. I can make 
her think so in time.” 

“ Holy smoke ! ” exclaimed Roger, “ do you 
mean that old shack that’s between Balsam Knoll 
and Pumpkin Swamp? I’ve seen it when I was a 
kid going after mud turtles. We called it the 
haunted house, but I never knew what haunted it. 
I tell you, Lottie, the old lady must have found 
a way out through the swamp. It runs up to the 
Crossbrook Road in one place, you know. I don’t 
see how she did it. It’s an awful blind place.” 

“ Do you know the way, Roger? ” said Emmie. 
“ Please let’s go right now ! ” 

“ No, you won’t,” said Charlotte. “ You’re my 
younger sister and I won’t have you visiting a 
crazy person in a haunted house. She’ll be worse 
than ever after living there on dry crackers for so 
long.” 


NEWS AT FIRST HAND 


a05 


“ Why shouldn’t she go, Lottie? ” asked Roger 
in his judicial tone. “ Of course I’ll go with her. 
What harm could the poor old lady do to any one, 
anyway? She couldn’t fire a gun to save her 
life, and if Emmie couldn’t skip away from any- 
thing, it would be the first time in her life that 
she wasn’t spry. Don’t cry, Emmie ! Say, you 
stay here, Lottie, to see to things. Judy will come 
in a moment, and I’ll ask David to put Captain 
into the double wagon. Just pack us up a few 
provisions in case she’d be starving. We’ll take 
Rotten Eggs’s letter about there not being a revo- 
lution, and drive out and bring her back here. 
Well, what’s that?” 

There was a noise as of some one walking in the 
hall. As the maids were supposed to be still at 
breakfast, Charlotte opened the door to encounter 
Miss Nye, the dressmaker, who had entered the 
house by the side door. She was a member of the 
church the Gassetts attended, and that, as she 
thought, gave her a right of entrance to their 
house. 

“ Well, Lottie,” she exclaimed cheerfully, “ I 
suppose you have lots of news of Blanche and Miss 
Eslin, but I didn’t know as you’d seen this paper. 
My cousin Mina from New York, who’s been visit- 
ing me, sent it to me. Why, Lottie, what are you 
laughing at? And here’s Roger! Making an 
early call, isn’t he? ” 

“ Why, the truth is. Miss Nye,” said Charlotte, 


206 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


checking an almost hysterical laugh, “ we’ve had 
dozens of that paper sent us. Roger knows all 
about it, but I hope you don’t believe — ” 

“ No, of course not,” said Miss Nye benevo- 
lently. “ I know enough not to believe all I see 
in the papers. But I knew Blanche and Miss Es- 
lin were in Canada. Did you find them that night 
you were looking for them, Emmie I suppose 
they had lots to do before starting off the next 
day. I’m sorry this paper’s got about so, but it 
won’t do any harm. I wrote to Mina I guessed if 
she’d seen the governess who’s always round, she’d 
see that Blanche would be kept pretty close. 
Why, that Miss Eslin wouldn’t leave her a minute 
and kept looking at me as if she was afraid I was 
going to stick pins into her when I was trying her 
things on. Well, you don’t want this paper, I 
guess. Where’s your Cousin Kitty, Lottie.? I 
want to talk to her about her new fall silk.” 

Ready as Charlotte was, she had no answer now, 
and Roger spoke for her. 

“ Haven’t you heard. Miss Nye.? Uncle Jona- 
than and Cousin Kate have gone to Canada, too. 
They’re going to bring Blanche back.” 

“ Really ! ” exclaimed Miss Nye. “ When did 
they go.? ” 

“ Last night,” said Charlotte, recovering her 
presence of mind. 

“ Well, I didn’t think the old gentleman would 
be travelling again. I’m glad he’s gone. It will 
do him good.” 


NEWS AT FIRST HAND 


207 


Fortunately for the young people, Miss Nye 
was too busy to stay long, and, after a little talk 
about clothes, she departed, leaving them looking 
blankly at each other. 

“What shall we do. Rod?” said Charlotte. 
“ It’s a miracle she hasn’t found out anything, but 
now here’s everyone thinking that Miss Eslin is in 
Canada. It will seem queer if she comes back 
alone. I don’t believe she’ll come here, though ; 
she thinks this house so awfully dangerous.” 

“ She could come to our house then.” 

“ That would be just as bad. Your father is 
a bank president, and they are all marked men.” 

“ She’ll have to come back somewhere. We 
can’t leave her in that old shack. We’ll get her 
and then decide what to do.” 

“ O Roger ! ” said poor Emmie, who regarded 
Roger as her only friend in this matter, “ couldn’t 
Miss Eslin and I stay there together, and you 
come every night and bring us provisions and news 
and things ? The house is all whole, and we could 
fix it up nicely. After the twenty-seventh she 
wouldn’t be so scared.” 

“ I’d like to see you do it ! ” burst in Charlotte. 

“ No, Emmie, you couldn’t stay there,” said 
Roger. “ I know Cousin Kate wouldn’t let you, 
and the old lady oughtn’t to be left there with any 
one.” 

Poor Emmie wasn’t surprised that she didn’t 
have her way this time. She was still of an age 
when children make all sorts of beautiful plans to 


208 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


which their hard hearted elders will never consent. 
But it was something to know that she was going 
as fast as possible to the friend who she felt had 
been so cruelly misjudged by them all. 


CHAPTER XIX 


A REFUGE IN THE WILDERNESS 

Charlotte stood in the doorway watching Roger 
and Emmie drive off, then went to the kitchen to 
explain a little of these new developments to the 
bewildered household staff. They had been so 
faithful and reticent that they deserved to know 
what happened. She could not wonder when Mrs. 
Prendergast said that now Miss Eslin must surely 
be considered insane and Charlotte must at once 
take proper steps to have her placed in an asylum. 
Charlotte promised to consult Mr. Rolby, and 
went to the porch to greet Julia, who came pre- 
pared to stay as long as she was needed. Julia, 
good girl, had given up her own holiday by the 
seashore to stand by her friends. She would never 
desert them while she could be of any use, and 
besides such exciting events did not happen every 
day in Nomono. 

Emmie said very little as she sat alone on the 
back seat of the wagon with her basket of provi- 
sions. The broad state highway which led to 
Crossbrook soon entered the woodland, which 
seemed wild indeed to be so near towns and fac- 
tories. There was a low, swampy tract on the 
left, near Pumpkin Pond, which was seldom visited 
209 


210 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


except by adventurous boys. On the other side 
of the road the land rose into the fine upland pas- 
tures of Frozen Spring Farm. Just before the 
road reached the thickest wood there was a tiny 
public house which met the new demand for the 
refrealhment of motor-bicyclists and automobile 
travellers. Here Roger put up Captain; then he 
and Emeline walked cautiously on till they came 
to a low causeway where the swamp touched the 
road. Roger’s plan was to walk through the 
woodland beyond, which would be a much shorter 
way, as the crow flies, to the deserted house than 
to go further round by the road and then follow 
the lake shore from Balsam Knoll. 

They plunged into the woods when no one was 
passing by, Roger carrying the basket. The 
swamp land, being of no value, had been aban- 
doned to a tangled scrub growth, which, as every 
one knows who has tried it, is harder to penetrate 
than the primeval forest. 

“ How do you suppose the old lady found her 
way here ? ” asked Roger. “ She must have had 
some short cut to get out to McCuin’s shop. 
Well, I guess there wouldn’t be many revolution- 
ists coming in here. I’d like to see them try it.” 

“ But wouldn’t it be lovely here. Rod, in the 
early spring? There are some laurel leaves! I 
know there’d he lots of wild flowers.” 

Roger was pausing to take his bearings carc- 
fully. 

“If we go through the swamp,” he said, “ it 


A REFUGE IN THE WILDERNESS gll 


would be the quickest way. I guess it wouldn’t 
be very wet this season, and you could jump the 
boggy places. But if you want, we can keep 
higher up near the road till we strike the old cow 
path.” 

“ Oh, let’s go the shortest way ! ” said Emmie, 
and to show how she could jump she bounded 
through a brambly dwarf pine, landing on a half 
concealed rock. She skipped on before, like a 
wood fairy, while Roger trudged steadily on be- 
hind. She came unscathed through the swamp, 
though her hair was filled with the tiny stiff fir 
branches, as she never thought of choosing an easy 
path, but went straight through the toughest tan- 
gles. 

“ Here’s the path ! ” she exclaimed at last, 
“ and, O Roger ! here’s the house ! Does it look 
as it did when you were here last.?^ ” 

“ No, the barn has tumbled down more. Em- 
mie, do you suppose the old lady is really living 
here ? Let’s see — ” 

But while he was thinking of a plan of ap- 
proach, Emmie, delighted at reaching their goal, 
ran forward. Roger followed somewhat anx- 
iously, thinking that any woman who could stay 
alone in such a place must be more than a little 
off her balance. 

“ Just see, Roger, she’s been picking the black- 
berries. Aren’t they fine.? Miss Eslin, are you 
here.? Why, Rod, I can’t g^ in at the back door 
as we could before.” 


212 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


Roger knocked and there was a sound of some- 
thing heavy being rolled from before the door. 
He would have waited, but Emmie fearlessly 
opened it. 

“Miss Eslin!” she exclaimed joyfully. 

There was Miss Eslin, sure enough. She looked 
much neater than could have been expected after 
camping alone for a week in a deserted house; 
very handsome, too, for though her face was worn, 
her eyes were brighter than ever. Her crimps 
were gone, and her fine hair was arranged as sim- 
ply as possible, and far more becomingly. 

“ My darling child ! ” she said as Emmie ran to 
her and kissed her. “ And Mr. Collamore ! How 
did you get here.f^ ” 

“We came right through the swamp.” 

“ Then you received my letter I did very 
wrong in asking you and Charlotte to come in 
any emergency to such a lonely place. I thought 
it a refuge no one would discover, but I see that 
so near to the picnic ground is a dangerous neigh- 
borhood.” Miss Eslin’s carefully courteous man- 
ner was just the same, in spite of her surround- 
ings. “ I can’t offer you chairs,” she added, 
smiling, “ but here’s an old settle I found in the 
next room. Now tell me how you all are, and then 
we will make some plans. First, what have you 
heard from Blanche.? ” 

“ We’re all well and I’ll tell you everything, 
but won’t you have some of these sandwiches 
first.? ” 


A REFUGE IN THE WILDERNESS 213 


“ No, thank you, darling, I’m not hungry, and 
really we ought not to linger here long. There is 
a company of rough men on Balsam Knoll. They 
seem to be camping there. They came last even- 
ing and some of them passed by here, shouting 
and singing. I suppose they make one of those 
lawless bands of men who gather together and 
roam the country in any time of public disorder. 
I could hear them last night from here, shouting 
in their camp. I’m glad you didn’t come that 
way. I should never have forgiven myself if 
anything had happened to you.” 

“ I guess you did hear some yelling,” said 
Roger. His face, which had been very grave, re- 
laxed into his usual smile. “ Say, Miss Eslin, 
have you really been scared.? Are you sure they 
weren’t singing Gospel hymns.? Emmie, it must 
be those North End Mission, Elim Chapel, people 
with their camping party. I thought Mrs. Ac- 
kers wouldn’t let them come again, but I guess 
they got round the deacon. They aren’t anything 
to be scared at. Mr. Haslett is a Home Mission 
minister; I don’t know what you’d call him in Eu- 
rope. He’s an awful hustler anyway. He’s got 
up a Sunday School mission among sweat shops 
and I don’t know what sort of people. They send 
them out round the country in camping parties, 
and Haslett himself brings some of them here 
every Autumn. We used to drive out and give 
them lemonade and chocolate and such stuff. He 
was round in Cambridge trying to rope in some 


214 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


of us, and I believe I said if I was here I’d help 
get up a baseball team, as we did last year, 
against that Catholic Mission camp they have 
over at Underfall. We beat them hollow, didn’t 
we, Emmie? Six to nothing, which was pretty 
good when most of our fellows were Jewish sweat 
shop workers who could sew like lightning, but 
had never done anything else. We taught them 
to swim, a lot of them, who’d never been in water 
in their lives. It’s rather a dangerous place to 
go by in one way. Mr. Haslett’s the kind of a 
man you can’t get away from, but I guess it would 
be better to go that way than through the 
swamp.” 

Roger had gone on talking in the cheerful, 
everyday tone which he thought would be most re- 
assuring to Miss Eslin. 

“ It is a terrible journey through the swamp,” 
she said, with a shudder, “ though I found a way 
by which I passed through it several times. We 
will go any way you think best, but, tell me, what 
are your plans ? ” 

“ Why, we’re going to take you back to No- 
mono ; you can’t stay here.” 

“ And here’s a letter from Egbert for you,” said 
Emeline, producing the letter, with many scrupu- 
lous apologies for its having been opened. 

“ Mr. Benning, has he written to me? ” 

“ Yes, you know everything he told you was all 
made up, but he says he’s sorry for it.” 

Roger and Emmie had thought that if anything 


A REFUGE IN THE WILDERNESS 215 


could shake Miss Eslin’s belief in a revolution it 
would be Egbert’s letter. He had taken great pains 
in its composition, and it had seemed to them a 
very fine production. But they were disappointed 
if they had expected her to be converted at once. 
She seemed confused as she opened the letter with 
an unsteady hand. The style was so different from 
Egbert’s ordinary way of talking that it was no 
wonder she could hardly take in the carefully writ- 
ten sentences. It was evident to Roger that what 
she needed now was not arguments and apologies, 
but comfortable quarters and judicious feeding, 
and he again proposed that they should be going. 

“ You want to take me back to Nomono,” she 
said, looking at them appealingly. “ I know from 
that nothing can have happened in the country 
yet. I have been able to buy some newspapers at 
the roadside shop. I always waited till some mo- 
tor car party went in and then joined them, think- 
ing I should not be observed among others. The 
papers had many horrors, but nothing especial 
seemed to have happened. I cannot resist you ; I 
begin to think I know very little. But I dread 
meeting Mr. Gassett. He cannot have forgiven 
me yet for sending Blanche away from him.” 

‘‘ Why, he’s gone after her with Cousin Kitty,” 
said Emeline. 

“ Has he, dear.?^ Oh, tell me all about it! ” 

“ Let’s get out of this first,” said Roger impa- 
tiently. 

He loaded himself with Miss Eslin’s suit case as 


216 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


well as the basket of provisions, and they started 
to return, Emmie beginning her story at once. 
In spite of all that had happened, it never oc- 
curred to her to treat Miss Eslin as if she were 
different from anybody else. Miss Eslin was 
grown up, and if she wanted to know about any- 
thing, she ought to be told. So Emmie proceeded 
to give a circumstantial account of everything that 
had happened at home since the mysterious dis- 
appearance. She even began upon the newspaper 
with its foolish account of Blanche as an heiress, 
when Miss Eslin’s distressed expression told that 
the last thing the governess would wish to hear was 
of such publicity for her carefully guarded charge, 
and Emmie checked herself, feeling that she 
was very indiscreet. Roger then explained to 
Miss Eslin that she was welcome at his house if 
she did not wish to return to the Gassetts’. 

“ Your parents have gone away, too, Mr. Col- 
lamore.'^ ” she asked. “ Fishing in the State of 
Maine To have a good time.? I will do what 
you think best, only promise me that you will not 
take me away from you all and Emeline. I don’t 
want to part with her again now she has found me.” 

Before reaching the picnic grounds Roger 
turned aside to a cart path that skirted the knoll, 
hoping to be unobserved by the campers on the 
summit. He thought his party had escaped 
safely when they reached the bars which led into 
the lane running from the high road. Emeline, 
from the mere pleasure of it, was over first with 


A REFUGE IN THE WILDERNESS 217 


a jump before Roger could take down the bars 
for Miss Eslin ; when, to their horror, they saw a 
woman clad in dark calico coming towards them, no 
less a person than the formidable Mrs. Ackers. 

“ Well,” she exclaimed, “ who’d have thought it! 
Roger Collamore and Lottie Gassett and the for- 
eign lady 1 How do you do, ma’am ? Roger, I 
suppose you’ve rushed out here, first chance, to 
promise that Mr. Haslett that you’ll get up a ball 
team and I don’t know what all for those boys ; 
but I’ll have a word with him first about those fel- 
lows that were round our barn last night. I sup- 
pose he’s a pious man, but he’s awful plausible for 
all that. He persuaded the deacon to let him 
have the grounds for nothing, saying it was help- 
ing in such a Christian work, and that there 
wouldn’t be many picnics at this season. He’ll 
talk as if everything was so sweet and lovely, when 
you know it isn’t, but he can’t cheat me. I’m not 
one that thinks it Americanizes and Christianizes 
and civilizes, and izes up boys generally to be rob- 
bing hen roosts and scaring cows and doing all 
sorts of mischief. I just sent a boy I found round 
up the hill to ask him to come down and talk to 
me, but I guess the rascal didn’t tell him, or he’s 
afraid to come. I’d thank you, Roger Collamore, 
if you’d go and tell him I have a word to say to 
him.” 

Roger’s natural instinct to oblige his neighbors 
was so strong that he was actually turning to go 
up the hill, when a portly middle-aged gentleman 


218 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


was seen already descending. He came slowly, 
which was not to be wondered at, considering the 
interview which awaited him. But when he looked 
up after picking his way down the steep slope, his 
eyes shone with pleasure. 

“ Good morning, Mrs. Ackers ! A glorious day, 
isn’t it ? I’m glad to see you looking so well. And 
here are other friends. Roger Collamore, this is 
good of you ! But I knew I could depend on you. 
Well, Roger, you’ll be glad to know we have some 
husky fellows with us this year, just ripe for a lit- 
tle ball practice to keep them out of mischief. I 
don’t believe there’s one among them who hasn’t 
heard about the boat race and doesn’t know all 
about you. It’s wonderful how fast these little 
fellows learn ! Lots of them wanting to learn to 
swim, too. And this is Miss Charlotte Gassett.? 
Good morning, my dear young lady ! How is your 
good uncle Strong as ever, I suppose. What a 
lesson he is to boys to keep clear of alcohol and 
tobacco ! And this young lady, I suppose, has 
come, too, to offer us her services ” 

“ This is Miss Eslin, Mr. Haslett,” exclaimed 
Emeline eagerly, forgetting entirely that Miss Es- 
lin was supposed to be in Canada ; and she added 
proudly, and very imprudently, “ She has lived 
abroad and she speaks six languages ! ” 

“ This is providential ! ” exclaimed Mr. Has- 
lett. “ An interpreter is just what we are looking 
for. Come right up to the camp, young ladies! 
We’ll make you comfortable.” 


A REFUGE IN THE WILDERNESS 219 


The city missionary had the habit, most excus- 
able in those who are doing real work in the world, 
of assuming that no one else had anything to do 
but to help him. By this method he certainly ac- 
complished wonders, nor was he ever lacking 
in gratitude. He had offended Charlotte the 
summer before by speaking of Roger as 
“ a noble young Christian.” What did he ex- 
pect him to be, she demanded, “ a mean old hea- 
then.? ” 

But the poor man was not left to enjoy his new 
found recruits. No sooner had he stopped, out 
of breath, than Mrs. Ackers burst in with the 
story of her wrongs. Roger, with a vague prom- 
ise of returning some other time, escaped with his 
charges, seeing that Miss Eslin was hardly able 
to stand. 

“ Say, Emmie,” said Roger, motioning back to 
Mrs. Ackers, “ don’t they take boarders sometimes 
at the farm.? ” 

“O Rod, do you think we could stay there.? 
That would be splendid. I always just loved 
Frozen Spring Farm ! Miss Eslin, let’s go ! I’ll 
stay with you, and we’d drink nothing but the 
spring water.” 

Roger had not thought before of Emmie’s going 
to the farm too, but he really thought it would be 
a good plan for Miss Eslin. He was sure that 
Uncle Jonathan would not want her in his house 
again, and it would be better to have her as far 
off as the farm than close by in Nomono. 


220 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ I suppose it would be as safe a place for Erne- 
line as any other,” said Miss Eslin. 

“ Safe ! I guess so ! ” exclaimed Roger. 
“ When we used to go hunting turtles in the swamp, 
you bet we gave Mrs. Ackers a wide berth. If old 
Haslett would only let some of his kids get caught 
when they go round the farm, I guess they 
wouldn’t try going there again. But I know she 
takes boarders sometimes, and they say she keeps 
a good table.” 

‘‘ A good table ! I shouldn’t think of that, Mr. 
Collamore. I should be satisfied with dry bread, 
and if dear Emmie can stay with me, perhaps you 
could send her some luxury now and then.” 

The fierceness of Mrs. Ackers really seemed an 
attraction to Miss Eslin. Perhaps she felt that 
the wildest petroleuse Paris ever produced would 
have thought twice before joining an expedition to 
forage Frozen Spring Farm. Arrived at the 
highroad. Miss Eslin sat down to rest. Emmie 
stayed with her, while Roger went boldly back to 
encounter Mrs. Ackers. 

“ Emeline darling,” said Miss Eslin, “ I believe 
Mr. Collamore said that gentleman was a clergy- 
man. I suppose he is a learned and pious man.” 

Emeline knew nothing of Mr. Haslett’s learning, 
but she was sure that he did a great deal of good 
in his city mission chapel. 

“ I was very wrong,” continued Miss Eslin. “ I 
had no idea it was a Sunday School camping 
party. I never heard of such a thing before. I 


A REFUGE IN THE WILDERNESS 221 


wrote to Blanche very early this morning, posting 
it about sunrise. I told her where I was and 
begged her on no account to return here, at least 
till she heard from me again, as the public disorder 
was already breaking out. I told her I should 
probably soon leave the place, as there was a camp 
of stragglers, or,” she hesitated before speaking 
the word, “ revolutionists in the camping grounds 
near by. I directed the letter to ‘ Mount McPher- 
son, Province of Quebec,’ the only place I could 
remember that Mr. Meecom said they were to visit. 
I sincerely hope she will not get it.” 

Emmie thought the letter would do no harm, as 
Uncle Jonathan would bring Blanche back any- 
way. 

“No one will want me to be her governess after 
this, whatever happens,” said Miss Eslin with a 
sigh. “ I shall have to find some other work. If 
I could only be near you, my darling child ! But 
I fear there is no hope of that.” 

Emeline felt, as she sometimes had before, al- 
most frightened by Miss Eslin’s affection for her- 
self. She didn’t see what she had done to gain it, 
and, shy as she was, she shrank from any one’s 
coming too near. She could only repeat that 
Blanche would be all right, and that it would be 
lovely if they could stay at the farm. Then, try- 
ing for a lighter tone, she said, 

“ I’m glad Egbert wrote to you. He didn’t 
mean any harm talking as he did, but you can’t 
help believing him, he always looks so solemn. 


m2 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


When people were talking a while ago about 
whether monkeys had a language, old Mrs. Green- 
wood said she knew one monkey who could talk a 
great deal too well.” 

Meanwhile fortune had favored Roger, who met 
Mrs. Ackers just as the lady was returning from 
a triumphant interview with poor Mr. Haslett. 
She was gracious enough to Roger, though she 
couldn’t understand why the foreign lady couldn’t 
speak for herself and insisted on going with Roger 
to meet her. Next she guessed that Miss Eslin 
would be hard to suit. Then she didn’t want Lot- 
tie Gassett, who had laughed at her once, “ a 
woman old enough to be her grandmother.” 

“ It isn’t Lottie,” said Roger meekly ; “ it’s only 
Emmie.” 

“ Possible ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Ackers. “ Why, I 
thought it was Lottie all along. Well, at any 
rate, those two girls are as alike as two peas.” 

But something in Emeline’s face as she stood 
in the background, smiling as if she had indeed 
been Charlotte, but with a little witching expres- 
sion of her own, softened Mrs. Ackers. She owned 
she had no boarders at present and finally agreed 
to take the two ladies in and do her best for them. 
It was doubtful, in her opinion, if the Sunday 
School campers left her any eggs or cream. 

Emmie was afraid that Lottie wouldn’t like the 
plan, but, for a wonder, no one seemed to think 
Lottie need be consulted. So, though it seemed 
almost too good to be true, she and Miss Eslin 


A REFUGE IN THE WILDERNESS ^2S 


were conducted up the hill to the farm house by 
Mrs. Ackers. Roger, who accompanied them, car- 
rying the bundles, promised to return in the even- 
ing, bringing each of them a store of clothing and 
necessities. They were shown into comfortable 
rooms upstairs, a southwest corner chamber for 
Miss Eslin, and a smaller one behind for Emeline. 
Persuaded by Emmie, Miss Eslin lay down for a 
few minutes’ rest on the bed, when on hearing Mrs. 
Ackers’s rasping voice below, calling some delin- 
quent to account, she turned on her side and fell 
at once into a sound sleep. 


CHAPTER XX 

A STRONGHOLD OF SAFETY 

Ever since she was a tiny child Emeline had 
cherished a wild admiration for Frozen Spring 
Farm. It was indeed a very good specimen of an 
old New England homestead, and was now one of 
the most famous dairy farms in Massachusetts. 
The house was on a hillside sloping to the south 
and west, with a row of three fine American elms 
in front. The modern dairy buildings clustered 
round the old house were not beautiful in them- 
selves, but their contents were so fascinating Em- 
mie could not wonder that they were haunted by 
the poor boys from the city slums, as she herself 
loved to peep in to see the cows milked, or the 
cream separators working in the dairy. Not dar- 
ing to go far, she strolled about alone that first 
afternoon, for Miss Eslin did not wake from her 
refreshing sleep till supper was ready. Miss Es- 
lin had expected to share the farmhouse meals in 
democratic equality, but this she found was not 
expected. They were to have their meals by 
themselves, and hardly saw their hostess, who, in 
spite of her age, still insisted on doing most of her 
own work. 

Mrs. Ackers was by no means so indifferent to 


A STRONGHOLD OF SAFETY 225 


the opinion of her neighbors as might have been 
inferred from her almost insane irritability. She 
made no effort to keep her temper because no one 
expected it of her, but she had a reputation as a 
housekeeper which she highly prized and nobly 
sustained. In the old-fashioned country phrase 
she was “ pizen neat,” and no modern state in- 
spector had ever found a flaw in the cleanliness 
of her dairy. She was a generous provider, too, 
and though she did not aspire to the latest style 
of serving, no boarder at her house could justly 
complain of the quality or quantity of the meals 
she provided. Her husband was a quiet man, who 
had learned that silence was his best defence from 
his wife’s tongue, but when he did speak he showed 
himself a shrewd, thoughtful Yankee of the old 
school. 

Miss Eslin felt that she had found for a time a 
haven of rest. She knew that she was supposed 
to be in Canada, and at first hardly dared to ven- 
ture out of the house. She felt deeply that all 
the grown-up people she knew in America must 
disapprove of her, and it was soothing to her 
wounded pride that Emeline invariably treated 
her as the learned governess and the grown person 
in authority. Emmie consulted her as to what 
she should wear and did what she was told like a 
child. 

At supper Emmie proposed that, as they didn’t 
want all the cake provided for them, they should 
save some for the campers, who probably were not 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


me 

provided with such luxuries. It would be honest, 
wouldn’t it, as they could do what they hked with 
cake made for themselves It was honest enough, 
thought Miss Eslin, but hardly a prudent plan, 
as it was calculated both to anger Mrs. Ackers 
and to bring crowds of boys upon them, but she 
could refuse Emeline nothing; so when dusk was 
coming on and bats instead of birds were flying 
in the elm trees, they stole out with their hoarded 
pieces of cake. Sure enough, they soon saw two 
harmless looking small boys trying to peep into the 
barn to see the last cows milked. How to com- 
municate with them was a puzzle to Miss Eslin, 
but Emmie fluttered forward as silently as a fire- 
fly or a fairy. Without a word, she slipped a 
piece of cake into the hand of each boy, and in a 
moment was at Miss Eslin’s side again. 

When Roger arrived a little later he found the 
ladies, to whom he now seemed to act as guardian, 
both well placed and content. They thanked him 
for the supplies he brought with a courtesy to 
which he was not accustomed. The Nomono peo- 
ple were as proud as possible of Roger ; of his ath- 
letic record in school and at Harvard ; of the clubs 
to which he belonged, and even of his moral char- 
acter, which they considered as partly due to the 
excellent education in which they had all joined, 
but they regarded him and his virtues as town 
property. Only Emeline, before she could have 
learned it of Miss Eslin, always asked the 


A STRONGHOLD OF SAFETY 227 


smallest service of him as a special favor, and she 
got what she wanted as promptly as any one. 

Emeline now planned long walks that she and 
Miss Eslin were to take together. As the hay 
was down, they could walk about the fields and 
avoid the public roads. She moreover spied a 
large old-fashioned blue cotton umbrella in the 
farmhouse entry, which she thought Miss Eslin 
might borrow for walking and lower it whenever 
they met a stranger, as if to protect weak eyes. 
This simple plan seemed so clever to Emmie that 
she began to think herself quite a conspirator 
after all. Also she had judgment enough not to 
question Miss Eslin about her experiences in the 
week of lonely days in the deserted house. But 
they found they must put off beginning their 
country tramps. In the afternoon Miss Eslin 
was so tired and sleepy she consented to lie down 
for another nap, first begging Emmie not to ven- 
ture out of sight of the farm house chimneys. So 
Emmie was alone when Julia and Charlotte made 
their visit to the farm. 

“ I don’t forbid your staying here, Emmie,” 
said Charlotte, ‘‘ because I know you’re deter- 
mined upon it. I suppose you must stay with 
Miss Eslin, now she has shown how devoted she is 
to us by running away and making us all utterly 
miserable.” 

They had heard nothing yet from Canada, ex- 
cept a telegram from Uncle Jonathan. 


228 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ But I wrote my letter to Blanche,” continued 
Charlotte eagerly, “ and sent it olF yesterday. It 
wasn’t at all like what I planned at first when I 
was so mad. I thought I’d really try to scare 
her and see if I couldn’t give her what she de- 
serves. There wasn’t a word in it that wasn’t 
true, but it was all written so that if she chooses 
she can think we are in the middle of an awful 
revolution. Judy helped me and it was great 
fun. I directed it to Mount McPherson where 
she was going with those Meecoms, so I guess 
she’ll get it before Uncle Jonathan and the others 
catch her, and they didn’t mean to telegraph they 
were coming. 

“ I told her I was glad to hear that she was 
enjoying herself so much, while we were in such 
terrible distress and anxiety. This was cool, 
dignified and sarcastic. I said that since she left 
many things had happened which, for obvious rea- 
sons, it was best not to dwell upon. It was doubt- 
ful whether she received my letter at all, and it 
might fall into other hands. That’s very true. 
I’m a little afraid she won’t get it. 

“ Then I said the danger we feared and some- 
times spoke of in private was now a reality. 
That really meant that we always thought she and 
Miss Eslin would do something idiotic. I said 
for days our house had been watched by officials, 
some of whom we were obliged to admit, against 
our wishes, to take their meals with us. You 
know Cousin Kate thought it good policy to ask 


A STRONGHOLD OF SAFETY 229 


those detective men to stay to dinner and Uncle 
Jonathan didn’t like it. 

“ Then that Cousin K., I put all our names in 
initials to seem mysterious and conspiracy-like, 
had insisted on going away with Uncle J., as she, 
Blanche, would peirhaps soon learn in another 
manner. He was driven to leave home almost 
brokenhearted; his position was a very dangerous 
one and we were extremely uneasy about him. I 
said you and I were perhaps too unimportant to 
be victims of any overthrow of the present condi- 
tions, but that we had been called upon by the 
officials above-mentioned to give some testimony, 
which we thought it prudent to do, however much 
it was against our feelings. 

“ I said you and Miss Eslin had taken refuge at 
the farm, and J. C. and I alone remained at home 
for the present, how long I could not say. R. W. 
C. was faithful and would not desert us, but his 
parents had fled, knowing they could be of no 
further use. All those who could had gone north- 
ward or to Europe to escape what would soon 
surely come upon us, meaning the hotter weather. 
Judy thought of that, wasn’t it bright of her? 
It’s perfectly wonderful how everything fltted 
in. If Blanche ever does confront me with the 
letter I can show her it was all just the simple 
truth. 

“ In conclusion I begged her to say nothing to 
any one of what I had written, as these sad times 
taught everyone prudence, and I bade her good- 


S30 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


bye, as I might never write to her again. I never 
mean to, I know that. 

“ Then I got Judy to write a postscript to 
please me. I know Blanche won’t suspect her as 
she may suspect me, and I think your letter, Judy, 
will scare her a great deal more than mine will. It 
was all how anxious she was about her parents, es- 
pecially her father. She is anxious, because he 
forgot to pack his long rubber boots, and she 
knows he’ll catch cold wading in the brooks with- 
out them.” 

Julia sat by, smiling at Charlotte’s description 
of her letter. She was a good-hearted girl, with 
a round cheerful face like her brother’s. Her na- 
ture was a loyal one, and, kind as she was, she 
thought that any girl who would treat a grand- 
father as Blanche had treated hers had no rights 
another girl was hound to respect. 

“ Now, Emmie,” concluded Charlotte, “ it’s 
your turn. You can compose a letter about how 
you’ve taken refuge here, and how a mob of the 
lowest inhabitants of the city slums are besieging 
you. I saw one of those little camping boys as 
I came in trying to throw kindling wood into the 
pig-pen, to see if the pigs would eat it.” 

Emeline wouldn’t promise to undertake any- 
thing of the kind, though she said not a word in 
defence of Blanche. The girls had gone and §he 
and Miss Eslin were having their early supper, 
after a pleasant little stroll, when Mrs. Ackers 
rushed into the room in some excitement. 


A STRONGHOLD OF SAFETY 231 


‘‘ The general is here,” she exclaimed, “ the gen- 
eral ! He’s asking after you, EmmyZ^?^^. Come 
right off ! ” 

“ It’s General Rolby,” said Emmie. “ Let’s go 
to the parlor and see him. Miss Eslin.” 

Miss Eslin hesitated a moment and then took 
the lead into the parlor. She paused at the door, 
noticing that their visitor did not expect to see 
her. He cut his civilities somewhat short, ex- 
plaining that in the absence of Mr. Gassett and 
other friends he had come over to see how the la- 
dies were faring at the farm. 

“ You are Emmie? ” he asked abruptly. “ I 
never can tell you from Lottie. Put on your hat, 
child, and take a little drive with me.” 

“Wouldn’t you like to go. Miss Eslin?” ex- 
claimed Emeline. “ It would be perfectly lovely 
to drive this evening! You’re so kind to come for 
us, Mr. Rolby.” 

Miss Eslin flushed painfully. “ He wants to 
see her alone,” she thought, and felt that this 
veteran of what she called “ the Civil Wars,” 
would not be so easily satisfied with Emeline’s 
present position as were the good-natured young 
Collamores. She sent Emmie to get her hat and 
then nervously began at once. 

“You have heard that Emeline and I are here 
together. Don’t be afraid, please don’t I I 
wouldn’t, I couldn’t do her any harm.” 

“ I hope not. Her father is an old friend of 
mine.” 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


Something in the general’s tone and the intent 
way in which he looked at her, almost overcame 
Miss Eslin, but she controlled herself, conscious 
that if she would not have her sanity suspected, 
she must appear reasonable. Then she suddenly 
exclaimed, 

“ Think, sir, think ! Has my conduct been so 
strange considering what my experiences have 
been.?^ Do you know that in Europe I was first 
in Russia and then in Portugal — ” 

‘‘Yes, I’ve heard of all that. You’ve been 
through a good deal that might have frightened 
you, I know.” 

“ I trust it hasn’t really hurt me. You would 
understand my conduct better if you could realize 
how ignorant I am. I was for some years in a 
convent school in France, where, though we 
learned plenty of languages and accomplishments, 
we learned very little modern history. I know all 
about the Crusades, but I see there is a whole new 
world I know nothing about. Do you know when 
I heard you were a Civil War veteran I didn’t 
know what war was meant.? I knew there had 
been Federals and Confederates somewhere in 
America, but I didn’t know whether they were in 
North or South America.” 

Had the general laughed, as she had hoped he 
would, at her ignorance. Miss Eslin would have 
felt more encouraged, but he remained immov- 
ably grave. She tried again with an attempt at 
lightness. 


A STRONGHOLD OF SAFETY 23S 


“ Mr. Collamore was not at all afraid to leave 
Emeline with me. Wait till he comes; he calls 
every evening.” 

“ Mr. Collamore ! He’s gone away.” 

“ I mean Mr. Roger Collamore.” 

“ Rod Collamore ! Oh ! ” 

Miss Eslin longed to say that Mr. Roger Col- 
lamore was a young man of great character and 
judgment, and that even Mr. Gassett sometimes 
deferred to his opinion, but the words died on her 
tongue as she saw Mr. Rolby still grave and civilly 
observant. 

“ What was your motive in going to that old 
house ? ” he asked in a carefully guarded tone. 

“ I thought, do not think me too foolish ! my 
plan was to have it ready for the rest of the fam- 
ily to join me in case of any sudden uprising. I 
could get newspapers and I watched carefully to 
see if anything were going to happen. If things 
looked threatening I meant to go at night to get 
them.” 

“ And do you still think there is going to be a 
revolution here.'^ ” 

“ May I tell you the frank truth? I am puz- 
zled. I have received a long letter from Mr. Eg- 
bert Benning, which I have read over and over 
again. He asks me to disbelieve everything he 
told me before. But he told me so much, in so 
serious a manner, and with so many particulars, 
it is hard to believe he could invent them all. 
And there was so much I saw in the papers ; I read 


234 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


up in back numbers all about the Beckborougb 
troubles, and I heard much from other sources 
which agreed with what he said.” 

‘‘ I can’t imagine your taking anything that 
scamp of a Benning boy could say so seriously.” 

“ Perhaps he appears older to me than to you 
who have known him all his life,” said Miss Eslin 
thoughtfully, as Emeline came in, bringing not 
only her own hat, but a hat and wrap for Miss 
Eslin. 

“ Here are your things,” she said. “ O Gen- 
eral Rolby, are you driving Molly Molasses and 
Squaw Sachem.^ Won’t we go fast!” 

“ I think I’d better not go,” said Miss Eslin 
lamely. 

“ Why, it’s a two-seated carriage I ” said Eme- 
line innocently. 

“ I’d rather you’d go without me, my dear,” and 
as the general added abruptly, “ Come, Emmie, I 
want you ! ” Emmie followed him and got into the 
open carriage, disappointed and perplexed. 

Miss Eslin saw them drive away, trying to 
choke down a lump in her throat. It was too 
good to be true that she should be left alone with 
Emeline. It was one thing to be in the farmhouse 
with Emmie, who had no fears and was full of sim- 
ple childlike little plans, and quite another thing 
to be there alone. At night, alone in her room, 
with the family in the other part of the house, 
she would, though far more comfortable, be almost 
as lonely as in the terrible days in the deserted 


A STRONGHOLD OF SAFETY 235 


house. She perceived with dismay that she had 
made a reputation for herself that would not eas- 
ily be lived down. 

She passed a lonely evening in the farmhouse 
parlor, unable to steady her mind enough to read 
her history. She was just thinking that, much 
as she dreaded it, she must go upstairs alone, when 
she heard the shrill thuds of a motor bicycle, and 
there was a knock at the door. Never had any 
greeting been more welcome than Roger’s cheer- 
ful “ Hullo, Miss Eslin! Is that you? ” 

“ Mr. Collamore ! How glad I am to see you, 
and how good you are to come ! But do you know 
Emeline is not here? ” 

‘‘ I know. The general brought her back to 
Nomono. I called at Uncle Jonathan’s before 
coming here. I talked with him some, or I’d have 
come sooner. Lie’s going to bring her right back 
on his way home.” 

“ Roger ! ” exclaimed Miss Eslin, dropping all 
formality with Roger once for all, “ do I owe this 
to you? I never can be grateful enough. But 
how could you prevail upon him? ” 

“ Well, you see, he kind of thought — but I told 
him - — ” said Roger, hesitating. 

“ I know what he thinks, and if he is still un- 
easy, perhaps I ought not to be so selfish as to let 
her come back. Perhaps she had better stay with 
the other girls, and, Roger, perhaps you’ll come 
and see me sometimes when I’m alone, if it isn’t 
asking too much.” 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ But she wants to come,” said Roger, who was 
really thinking a great deal more of what Emmie 
wanted than of Miss Eslin’s feelings. “ They’ll 
be here right off now. I just got ahead on my 
bike. I wanted to see that they got here all 
right with those wild horses. Hullo ! I’ll put 
that lamp outside so that he can see his way up 
the hill.” 

“ You are so practical, Roger,” said Miss Es- 
lin admiringly. He did indeed seem to her, as 
Miss Kate had described him, “ a lovely boy.” 

In a short time the carriage was heard climbing 
the hill, and Emeline jumped out, ran into the 
house, and into Miss Eslin’s arms. The general 
did not come in, to Miss Eslin’s great relief. She 
did not want to see him again, and was anxious 
when he and Roger seemed to be having another 
conversation, though she would have been re- 
lieved could she have heard it. 

“ Well, Rod, I guess you’re right. I watched 
that Miss Eslin pretty closely, and talked with 
her, and I don’t think she’s really off the balance. 
I don’t wonder she wants that child, but I was sur- 
prised that Emmie herself was so set on returning. 
I asked her some questions when we were driving; 
for one thing, if they slept near each other. She 
said, ‘ Oh, yes, she had moved her bed into the 
front room, so that Miss Eslin could take hold of 
her hand whenever she woke up at night.’ I tried 
to frighten her a little, but she didn’t scare worth 
a cent.” 


A STRONGHOLD OF SAFETY £37 


“ Lottie and Emmie aren’t scary girls,” said 
Roger proudly ; “ they aren’t even afraid of cows, 
as my sister is. Emmie will walk right through 
the Boulder Pasture when the bull is in it. She 
says if she can’t run faster than that bull, it’s a 
pity. And the old lady can’t do any harm, any- 
way.” 

“ Old ! I should think her too young and 
pretty for a governess.” 

“ Well,” said Roger, “ you see, she knows so 
much she’s got a few bats in her belfry, like old 
Weismann.” 

“ How is the old professor now? ” asked the 
general, and he held in his horses for the pleasure 
of a moment’s chat with a Harvard man of the 
present day. Then he drove off, calling out at 
parting, 

“ Tell me when I can do anything, and ’phone 
me as soon as you hear again from Canada.” 


CHAPTER XXI 
A FURTHER FLIGHT 

Roger could really speak with some knowledge 
of the mentally infirm. The two energetic Miss 
Nyes, Almira and Cordelia, had an unfortunate 
sister, Lucilla, who, unable to care for herself, had 
all her life been their care. The kind hearted 
Collamores had always been particularly atten- 
tive to this afflicted lady, and their children had 
followed their example. As Miss Lucilla could 
hardly read or employ herself in any way, the 
pleasures of the table were almost the only ones 
she could enjoy. Many a time had Julia and 
Roger left the family dinner early to carry her a 
piece of pudding or a nice basket of fruit. 

Though Roger had so stoutly maintained Miss 
Eslin’s sanity, he thought it the proper thing to 
supply her with delicacies. On his first visit to 
the farm he had brought some peppermints, and 
on his visit three days after Emeline’s return he 
produced a large box of chocolate creams which 
he handed to Miss Eslin without a word. His 
manner was grave and so was hers as she asked 
as usual for news from Canada. He could not 
tell her much that was satisfactory. The letters 
238 


A FURTHER FLIGHT 


239 


had only said that, failing to find Blanche and the 
Meecoms at Bannister Bay, the party had gone 
on to Mount McPherson. Miss Eslin sighed and 
tried to change the subject. 

“ I wanted to consult you about our neigh- 
bors,” she said. “ That good clergyman was here 
today, and wished us to return with him. He 
wanted me to interpret for him, and Emeline to 
teach a bird class, but I hardly thought I ought 
to let her go to such a place without some advice.” 

“ Oh, it wouldn’t do any harm at all. Judy 
and Lottie are coming out to see the camp. All 
the girls do.” 

“We will go then, if you think it best. Emmie 
was a little disappointed that I hesitated, but she 
was a good child and gave way to me.” 

Miss Eslin smiled on Emeline, and noticed that 
Roger was looking at her, too, and that Emmie, 
though she sat quietly on the edge of the piazza, 
was looking longingly up the green slope of the 
hill. Miss Eslin rose suddenly. 

“ Children,” she said, “ run off somewhere ! 
Go visit the camp. Anywhere you like ! Emeline 
has not had half the exercise she ought to have. 
I will go and finish my letter, and perhaps you will 
post it, Roger, on your way home.” 

Roger and Emeline were up and off in a minute, 
and Miss Eslin, with an indulgent smile, went into 
the house. She finished her letter and then waited 
on the porch for their return. They came down 
the hill at last, walking slowly and evidently talk- 


S40 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


ing gravely. It did not seem as if they had en- 
joyed their run together. When they reached 
the piazza Roger said slowly, 

“ Emmie says you are writing to Blanche, Miss 
Eslin.” 

“ Yes, here is the letter; it was a hard one for 
me to write. I trust she will be long enough at 
Mount McPherson to receive it. I hope Mr. Gas- 
sett will rest there a few days.” 

Roger hesitated, 

“ Don’t you feel bad, but we think you ought to 
know.” 

“ What is it, Roger.? Has anything else hap- 
pened.? ” asked Miss Eslin with a quick, nervous 
movement. 

“ It seems dreadful mean to be telling you bad 
news, and it isn’t anything so bad anyway, but, 
you see, we’ve had a telegram from Cousin Archie, 
and the general and I have talked with him from 
Quebec over the long distance ’phone. They 
couldn’t find Blanche — ” 

“ Couldn’t find her ! What do you mean, 
Roger .? How terrible ! ” 

“ Oh, they think she’s all right, gone to Eng- 
land.” 

“To England.? Alone.? How could she.? ” 

“ I’ll tell you. Cousin Archie said that when 
they got to Bannister Bay they found the Meecoms 
had gone on in their auto to Mount McPherson. 
Uncle Jonathan got to feel that they were run- 
ning away from him with Blanche, so he and the 


A FURTHER FLIGHT 


^41 


rest went on there without telegraphing. The 
Meecoms were there all right, but Blanche had 
left the day before, that is, yesterday morning.” 

“No one with her, not even a maid.? ” 

“ No, but I guess there’d be some one on board, 
a stewardess or such, whose job it would be to 
look after her.” 

“ But where could she get the money.? Would 
Mr. Meecom — .? ” 

“ No, but you see people there knew her grand- 
father was Sir Humphrey Something. I suppose 
she could get credit somewhere in Quebec.” 

“ Would she have had time to receive my letter 
telling about the camping party.? ” asked Miss Es- 
lin, turning positively white. 

“ Yes, but don’t you feel so bad,” said Roger 
soothingly. 

“ It can’t be helped. I ought to suffer when I 
have done so much harm. Tell me all.” 

“ I guess it wasn’t your letter that scared her 
the worst. It seems Judy and Lottie wrote her as 
scary a letter as they could, because they were 
mad with the letter Blanche wrote Lottie. I’ll tell 
you all I know, really. Miss Eslin. The Meecoms 
were awfully glad when some of Blanche’s rela- 
tions turned up, and apologized for not writing 
more about her; they thought she’d written. 
They said she had been happy enough with them, 
though sometimes she seemed homesick. When 
they got to Mount McPherson, the day before 
yesterday, they sent to the post office and there 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


24 ^ 

were two letters for Blanche. They joked her 
about being the only one to get news, but she 
seemed troubled when she’d opened them and went 
up to her room to read them alone. She wouldn’t 
say anything at dinner, but that her relations 
down here seemed well. She went to the post- 
office alone afterwards, and they found out that 
she asked some questions about English mail 
steamers, and was told that one left for England 
today. The next morning, 3^esterday, she didn’t 
come down to breakfast, and they found she’d 
gone. She just left a letter thanking Mrs. Mee- 
com for what she’d done for her, and saying that 
some trouble had come in which she must act for 
herself. She felt she must go home and hoped 
Mrs. Meecom wouldn’t be angry with her. She’d 
told Mrs. Meecom some time ago when they first 
met that she considered England her home.” 

“ And couldn’t they find any trace of her? ” 

“ Yes, they found she’d taken a train to Quebec 
and they think she’s sailed in the ‘ Empress of 
India ’ this morning. Cousin Archie went on to 
Quebec last night, leaving Uncle Jonathan and 
Cousin Kate at Mount McPherson. He didn’t 
get there quite quick enough. Of course it took 
them some time to inquire round at Mount Mc- 
Pherson. The steamer h«cd gone. He tele- 
graphed me and arranged for a telephone talk and 
I notified the general. 'He says he thinks she’s 
sailed, as he found some people went on board at 


A FURTHER FLIGHT 


243 


the last moment. They didn’t seem to want to 
show up, for when he tried to get the steamer by 
wireless he couldn’t get any satisfaction.” 

“ And he isn’t sure. I can’t bear to think of it. 
I am much, very much, to blame, but I ought not 
to think of myself, but of that poor old man, Mr. 
Gassett. How will he bear it? Blanche was al- 
ways his idol. I see now that even if I had been 
right in all my suspicions I acted a very wrong 
part in persuading her to leave her grandfather. 
It was with him her duty lay, whatever happened. 
And what will she say to the family in England.? ” 

Visions of Blanche presenting herself to her 
English relations as one just escaped alive from 
a land of horrors crossed Miss Eslin’s mind, while 
Roger, though he had never been abroad, had a 
better opinion of the English nation than to sup- 
pose any one in it would pay much attention to 
Blanche. 

“ Could not her uncle,” asked Miss Eslin, after 
a pause, “ it may be of no use, but could he not 
send a cable message to Mr. John Gassett, ask- 
ing him to meet Blanche at Liverpool or Glasgow 
and explain matters ? ” 

“ Oh, yes, he’ll telegraph in a day or two,” said 
Roger. 

“ And I hope no one will be angry with her. I 
am the one who deserves all the blame. If I can 
do anything whatever, Roger, let me know. Now 
we must not keep you. You must be busy with 


244 . 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


this terribly sad affair. I will not trouble you 
any more with my self-reproaches. They are of 
no use, now.” 

She rose and went into the house, with so ut- 
terly sad a manner that even Emeline dared not 
follow her. 

“ Just you cheer her up,” said Roger ; “ she 
needn’t take on so. I guess it’s the best thing 
Blanche could do, to skip back to her daddy. 
When she’s got to him she can’t run any further 
that I can see. Well, I’ve got to go to the camp.” 

Roger had really grown interested in the base- 
ball nine which had been already started among 
the city boys. Mr. Haslett’s energy had drawn in 
some of the other Nomono boys as helpers, and 
there was besides a young collegian at the camp 
as permanent assistant. Miles Conant was from 
another college and connected with another church 
from Roger, but he was a very nice fellow, and 
Roger, who had been studying so much by himself 
this summer, was glad to meet a man of his own 
age. 

Roger’s prowess lay principally in water sports, 
it was as stroke oar that he was famous as an 
athlete, but he was expert enough in every game 
that could be played on land to excite the admira- 
tion of his pupils, while of course he was called 
upon to teach them all to swim, and to fish out 
those who got in beyond their depths. 

He left, and Emmie went into the house. She 
hardly dared to speak to Miss Eslin, she only 


A FURTHER FLIGHT 


245 


kissed her and sat silently by her, the best thing 
she could have done. 

Miss Eslin and Emmie were not the only ones 
who needed Roger’s cheerful visits. When he re- 
turned to Nomono he found Julia and Charlotte 
in almost as sad a state as the ladies at the farm. 
They were anxious about Uncle Jonathan. They 
hoped Cousin Kate would persuade him to come 
home. He could do no good by staying in Canada 
if Blanche had really gone to England. It was 
very unsatisfactory to hear nothing of her disap- 
pearance but by telegram and the telephone talk 
which the gentlemen had had together, but letters 
were not expected till tomorrow. 

For the first time since their troubles began 
Charlotte seemed really low spirited. She was 
frightened at the terrible result of the letter she 
had composed so proudly. She had really only 
expected to tease and mystify Blanche a little. 
Had she indeed driven her out of the country? 
She had not made a joke or a quotation since the 
last startling news had come. Julia, who generally 
expected to be entertained by Charlotte, was now 
a fellow penitent and a sympathetic mourner. 
The two girls really wanted Roger to stay with 
them, but he had been asked to a late supper at 
the Miss Nyes, and must keep his engagement to 
disarm suspicion; for, strangely enough, neither 
the Miss Nyes nor any of their neighbors who had 
not been specially told seemed even now to have 
an idea of any unusual occurrences in the Gassett 


246 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


household. As it was thought that Miss Eslin’s 
presence at the farm would probably transpire in 
Nomono, Miss Nye had been told of it by Hope, 
upon which she had said she’d heard of it already, 
and that it was too bad the poor thing had been 
taken sick so that she couldn’t enjoy travelling 
round in Canada with the others. She would go 
to see her and try to cheer her up, only she was 
so dreadful busy. The one thing that would do 
her good was to drink a dozen glasses of the spring 
water every day. 

There was something alarming, portentous, in 
the stupidity, or else the extreme politeness and 
reticence of their neighbors. It really seemed im- 
possible for the Gassetts to make themselves pe- 
culiar in their home town. But Charlotte felt that 
an explosion must come sometime, and she really 
began to be timid about venturing beyond the gate. 

Roger, however, did not dread the ordeal of the 
supper, as he knew he was not expected to talk, 
but to eat, which, considering the quality of the 
entertainment the good ladies provided, was not a 
difficult task. They had been trying to secure his 
company for some time by promising him green 
apple puffs and iced raspberry shrub, though, as 
Miss Almira remarked with her knowing air, they 
knew very well that such things alone weren’t suf- 
ficient for an athlete. 


CHAPTER XXII 


THE DESERTER’S RETURN 

Three more days went by with no news of the 
lost one. The best news was that all, including 
the faithful Mabel, were coming home and would 
be in Nomono on Tuesday afternoon. Charlotte, 
with a sinking heart, felt that this meant that 
Blanche had surely sailed. She knew Uncle Jona- 
than well enough to be sure he would never leave 
Canada if there were the slightest chance of find- 
ing Blanche anywhere in the wide Dominion. 

The travellers’ rooms were ready and the girls 
were waiting for Roger, who had promised to drive 
Charlotte out to the farm before their arrival for 
a short visit to Emeline, when they heard some one 
trying to enter by the front door. It was locked 
now, of course, and so was the side door, where 
they heard a similar attempt a moment later. It 
could not be Roger, for he had a latchkey, so 
Charlotte went to reconnoitre. 

“ Who is it.? ” she called in a formal tone. 

“ Lottie,” said a masculine voice in a mysterious 
whisper, “ may I come in ? How’s the revolu- 
tion.? ” 

“ ‘ Show me your white paw. 

Before I will undo the door,’ ” 

24<7 


248 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


said Charlotte, quoting the jingle in the old Ger- 
man fairy tale which had frightened them together 
when they were children. 

A hand covered with a white handkerchief was 
immediately shown at the tiny bull’s-eye window 
of the door, and Charlotte opened it to admit Eg- 
bert. 

“ Bertie ! ” exclaimed both the girls, “ how did 
you come.^ ” 

“From Halifax by land; I’ve just come from 
Boston.” 

“Don’t you talk to him, Lottie,” said Julia; 
“let me! O Bertie, we’ve had such a terrible 
time, you don’t know I Everybody’s gone but us, 
and — ” 

She stopped when she saw that Egbert really 
looked tired and worn and had not much to say in 
his own defence. He could, however, describe all 
he had suffered himself, and how he had been pur- 
sued whenever he landed at a Nova Scotia port 
with telegrams from the detective force. He 
couldn’t confide in Kit, Lee or Russ, secrecy was 
enjoined upon him; if they knew the story they 
would never have let him hear the last of it, and 
they all but saw a telegram beginning, “No news 
from Miss B. G. Can you tell us nothing.'^ ” 
Once the detective gentlemen had actually called 
her “ Blanche,” one telegram running, “We hear 
a young lady whose description answers to Blanche 
is at Pictou, any information — ” and so forth 
and so forth. 


THE DESERTER’S RETURN 249 


He was obliged to tell the boys that the tele- 
grams and many letters he received were about an 
important and secret business, and Russ Parry, 
who wrote for the “ Lampoon,” was making up a 
story about it. 

“ Oh, mayn't I see it when he’s written it? ” said 
Charlotte, a dimple showing for a moment on her 
solemn little face. 

“ Russ was all off the track,” as Egbert said ; no- 
body had been able to get at the truth, but he 
couldn’t stand the racket, and had come across 
country in all the heat to see if he could be of any 
use. He had come in time, at any rate, to share 
their dangers. “ It’s the twenty-seventh of 
August, you know, Lottie.” 

“ Yes,” said Charlotte. “ ‘ The ides of March 
are come.’ I’ve been thinking of that.” 

“ If you want to be of use,” said the practical 
Julia, “ you can drive right out to the farm with 
Rod and Lottie and explain everything to Miss 
Eslin.” 

“ Judy, I’ve written her a letter that was a 
work of genius. Isn’t that enough ? ” 

“ No, it isn’t. You must apologize to her your- 
self and explain all about the whole of Amer- 
ica.” 

“ Well, but, if I am to eat humble pie, I don’t 
want any of you girls round listening to me.” 

“ We won’t be,” said Charlotte. “ You. shall 
be shut up for two hours alone with Miss Eslin in 
the best parlor of the farm.” 


250 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ 0 Lottie ! I shall never mind going to a 
funeral afterwards. Who’s here.^^ ” 

Roger entered with his latchkey and greeted his 
cousin with, ‘‘ Hullo, Rotten Eggs ! ” 

“Hullo, Father William! You look pretty 
sober. I guess the revolution has worn on you.” 

“ You look all gone to seed,” said Roger Wil- 
liam frankly. “ I guess being seasick is worse 
than running a revolution. Have you heard that 
Blanche has skipped to England ? ” 

“ I’m trying to understand all these intricate 
developments as well as I can,” said Egbert, with 
his old expression of deep gloom. “ Drive me out 
to the farm. Father William; I’m to have an in- 
terview with your old lady there, and I want to 
get it over as soon as possible.” 

Egbert jumped in at the back of the wagon, 
but when they reached the foot of the farm hill his 
good resolution and his courage had so far oozed 
out that he insisted on the other two going up to 
the house first to prepare Miss Eslin for the in- 
terview. 

“ If I burst in upon her,” he said, “ it might 
have a very bad effect upon her nerves, and I don’t 
want to do any more harm.” 

When Roger and Charlotte reached the house 
they found Miss Eslin and Emeline formally en- 
tertaining Mr. Haslett in the same best parlor 
that was Egbert’s dread. It certainly was a for- 
bidding room, with its painful air of neatness, and 
its close, shut-up smell. There were some wax 


THE DESERTER’S RETURN 251 


flower funeral wreaths in black frames on the 
walls, with an old engraving of the deathbed of 
Washington. The only modern picture was a 
hideous caricature of Roger himself in his Har- 
vard sweater, which Mrs. Ackers had cut from an 
illustrated newspaper and pinned up beneath the 
deathbed scene. Even at the farm, Roger was 
always 'persona grata. 

“ Roger,” exclaimed Mr. Haslett, “ I am de- 
lighted to see you ! I hoped I should find you 
here. I want your help particularly now, and I’m 
just hearing some very interesting information. 
You know I let an old Russian, a Jew named Sol- 
sof, into the camp yesterday. Two of his grand- 
sons are there and he begged to join them. He 
seemed in great terror ; I could not tell why, and 
I brought him up here for this good young lady 
to act as interpreter. We’ve had a successful 
interview. He won’t go back alone and is wait- 
ing for me in the shed. They have met before; 
indeed have corresponded with each other.” 

“ Yes,” said Miss Eslin. She addressed Mr. 
Haslett with formal courtesy, but in a constrained 
manner which both Roger and Emeline understood 
well enough. “ Yes, I met Solsof some time ago, 
the day I walked home from the picnic, you know, 
Roger. He was with a party who were coming 
from Boston to the River Mills. I spoke to him, 
imprudently perhaps, but I couldn’t help speak- 
ing to one who looked like a Russian. I have 
been twice in Russia, you know, sir. After he 


252 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


returned to Boston he wrote me several letters. 
He had escaped to America, but he feared affairs 
were to be as bad here as they were there. He 
received several letters threatening his life, some of 
which he forwarded to me.” 

“Ah!” said Mr. Haslett. “Well, I can be- 
lieve that. He is a money lender, it seems. These 
poor folks are pretty hard upon each other some- 
times. We can’t blame them when life is so hard 
upon them for trying to scrape a little together. 
He’s got into some trouble, it seems, with the 
Workers’ Union, too. You’ve done your part, I 
know, my dear young lady, to persuade him in 
your letters that an honest man has nothing to 
fear in Boston, but it’s very hard sometimes to 
uproot the old ideas. What we want to tell you 
now, Roger, is that two men, we think they are 
Italians, or perhaps they are from the east shore 
of the Adriatic, who Solsof says have threatened 
him with vengeance and are pursuing him, have 
been lurking about the camp. Probably he got 
all their little savings from them, very unscrupu- 
lously, I fear. The boys think they are lodging 
in a little deserted house towards Nomono, in the 
direction of the swamp.” 

Miss Eslin gave a little shiver as she sat listen- 
ing attentively. 

“ They are reported to be armed,” continued 
Mr. Haslett. “ The boys say one has a knife, 
and perhaps both have pistols. They were round 
the camp last night, asking for food, and we fear 


THE DESERTER’S RETURN 253 


they will come again when it grows dark. I hope 
you won’t think me cowardly, Roger, but I’ve 
learned that it’s best to take precautions, even 
if they are probably unnecessary. So, as our 
camp is just within the limits of the town of 
Crossbrook, I’ve sent Miles there to ask their chief 
policeman to come himself or send two deputies 
to spend the night with us. And if you could 
stay till he comes back — ” 

“ I guess I can. I was going to drive Lottie 
back to Nomono before Uncle Jonathan got there, 
but she can go without me, and one of the fellows 
working here will lend me a bike so I can get home 
fast.” 

“ Roger, you are a tower of strength ! ” said 
Mr. Haslett. “ The boys will quiet down when 
they see you. Of course they like the excitement 
of watching for those men altogether too much. 
I’m a little afraid of their getting out of hand; 
otherwise I don’t really apprehend any danger. 
So don’t be frightened, my dear girls,” added the 
minister, looking at Charlotte and Emeline, who 
were listening with great interest to the conversa- 
tion. 

“ Well,” said Roger, with his usual common 
sense, ‘‘ I don’t see why you keep this Solsof in 
the camp if he’s a sharper and a skinflint. Why 
don’t you bounce him, and let him and these Ital- 
ian fellows fight it out among themselves.?” 

“ It would be cruel to take him from his grand- 
children and turn him out now,” said Mr. Haslett ; 


254 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ the men might be lying in wait for him. But 
I’ll go back now, and you’ll follow me, Roger, 
when you have sent Miss Charlotte on her way 
home. Some other time we will persuade this 
young lady to visit us and give us the benefit of 
her varied gifts. Little Emeline, I know, is long- 
ing to help us and Charlotte means to come when- 
ever she can.” 

“ Yes, indeed, Mr. Haslett,” said Charlotte cor- 
dially, “ we’ve been a little busy this summer, 
but — ” 

Mr. Haslett hurried off, and Emmie followed 
Charlotte and Roger to the wagon. Egbert nat- 
urally expostulated with them for leaving him 
waiting so long. Had the old lady, he demanded, 
been in hysterics all this time.'* 

“We forgot all about you,” said Roger crush- 
ingly. 

“Yes, indeed,” said Charlotte; “we’ve heard 
there are two armed conspirators prowling about 
the camp.” 

“ I’ve got to go there,” said Roger. “ Say, 
Rotten Eggs, you can drive Lottie home.” 

“ Well, if there really are two conspirators 
round, I should think I’d better stay with you.” 

“ All right, come along ! Those kids will like 
to raise a rough-house and the more men we have 
to keep order the better. Lottie, nobody wants 
to shoot you. Can you drive Cap home alone.? ” 

“ I can, but I won’t promise to get there till 
midnight. I’d like to see a revolution that would 


THE DESERTER’S RETURN 255 


start this horse. Well, I’ll try to get there before 
Uncle Jonathan and Cousin Kate.” 

She drove off gaily, while Emmie waved a good- 
bye and ran up the hill. There was no great 
risk, as it was still daylight and the highway was 
a much travelled road, still Roger felt, as he had 
told the general, that it was certainly true that 
Lottie and Emmie were not scary girls. 

“ Wasn’t it nice that Roger happened to drive 
out ? ” asked Emeline, when she had run back to 
Miss Eslin. 

“ Yes, dear, it was very fortunate,” was the 
cheerful answer. 

Miss Eslin had determined never to say any- 
thing that could depress Emeline and to be as 
brave as she could be herself. What was the use 
of saddening a girl, now happily without fear? 
Her greatest pleasure in life was petting Emmie; 
for her she even enjoyed acting as lady’s maid. 
She braided and tied Emmie’s hair as neatly as 
she did everything, and put on the child’s best 
white frock. 

They sat on the piazza after their early sup- 
per, watching the western sky. Miss Eslin trying 
to look cheerful while she was mentally calculating 
how far the steamer had gone that was carrying 
Blanche to England. Emmie was thoughtful, too, 
thinking whether she had better tell Miss Eslin 
of Egbert’s return, when a half grown boy came 
silently round the corner of the house. Emmie 


256 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


as silently took a box of chocolates from the little 
piazza table and offered them to him, when he 
presented her with a note directed to “ Miss M. 
M. Eslin.” 

“ Ah, my dear,” said Miss Eslin as she read it, 
“ Roger wants me to go back to the camp with 
this boy. Those men Mr. Haslett spoke of, ‘ Da- 
goes,’ Roger calls them, — I don’t know what that 
means, though I’ve seen the word in the papers, — 
have come there. He thinks they will do no harm 
if they are allowed to talk as they want to. He 
seems to feel that Mr. Haslett need have no anx- 
iety. I will do my best to interpret if they can 
speak Italian. Go to bed, dear, at the usual time. 
Roger will come back with me.” 

“ Oh, let me go, too ! ” exclaimed Emeline. 
“ It’s lovely in the camp at night ! They light 
all the lanterns and they look beautifully.” 

Taking assent for granted, she started down 
the hill without any other preparation than to 
take the box of chocolates. Miss Eslin made no 
remonstrance, and followed her and the messenger 
boy without a word. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


THE FIELD OF HONOR 

It had been almost light enough to read at the 
high hillside farm, but when they reached the 
wooded highroad it was already dark and chill 
with the evening dampness. The evening birds 
were singing, and the boy, who could speak Eng- 
lish and appeared to be a most promising young 
camper, wanted to know the name of every one 
they heard. The ladies at the farm had evidently 
a reputation for universal knowledge. As they 
reached the lane which led to the camp by the 
lake shore they met an open double wagon coming 
from the direction of Crossbrook which turned in 
at the same time they did. 

“ Are you from the farm, ladies,” asked a voice 
from the back seat, “ visiting the camp at this 
time of night? ” 

“ Yes, sir,” answered Miss Eslin meekly. 
Somewhat to her confusion, she recognized Gen- 
eral Rolby’s voice, in which she thought she de- 
tected a note of disapproval. 

“ Well, we were asked to come out because they 
were afraid of some trouble there. Perhaps you’d 
better turn back.” 


<257 


258 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ Can you speak Eyetalian, ma’am? ” asked an- 
other voice, a very loud one that seemed to come 
from a very tall man. 

Miss Eslin was somewhat surprised, but admit- 
ted that she could. 

“ Let her come, then, general. I don’t expect 
trouble, but if there is any we can get there first 
and stop it. It would be a good thing to get 
at the fellow’s story. Just follow us, ma’am, 
please.” 

The three walkers were strolling slowly after 
the wagon, Emeline and the boy deep in a bird 
talk, when they were startled by sounds from the 
camp. There was shouting and hallooing and 
then in rapid succession sounds which Miss Es- 
lin knew must come from some kind of fire- 
arms. 

“ Please go and see what that is,” she said 
quickly to the boy, “ and come and tell us.” 

She would not say a word to frighten Emeline, 
but Emmie had heard too, and was now hasten- 
ing forward. 

“ Stay here, darling ; we could do no good there, 
and they wouldn’t want us.” 

Emeline said nothing, but Miss Eslin, as she 
threw an arm round her, felt that her heart was 
beating. Josef did not return and the tumult in 
the camp appeared to be increasing, though no 
more shots were heard. 

“ Let’s go on. Miss Eslin,” said Emeline ; “ I 
guess it isn’t anything. The boys often shout 


THE FIELD OF HONOR 


259 


and yell like that, and Roger would take care of 
us.” 

It might be safer in the camp, thought Miss Es- 
lin, than to be alone where they were ; and she, too, 
had the feeling that if they could get at Roger 
they would be taken care of. It took them only 
a minute to climb the hill and see, almost before 
their eyes were accustomed to the light, an excited 
group under the Chinese lanterns in the centre of 
the camp. The boys were crowding in, shouting 
in confusion. Mr. Haslett’s voice was heard, and 
the loud voice of the tall man from Crossbrook 
shouting directions as to the security of two wild 
looking men who seemed to be prisoners. Roger 
was nowhere to be seen, and Miss Eslin made no 
objection when Emeline, holding her hand tight, 
took the lead in going forward. From the centre 
of the crowd they heard General Rolby’s voice. 

“ Brickett, no matter about those fellows ! Let 
the boys sit on them, anything! Here, get rid of 
this crowd and come and help us I ” 

There was still no sign of Roger, till, the crowd 
parting. Miss Eslin and Emmie pressed in and 
saw him at last sitting against a large pine tree, 
holding a limp figure in his arms. Close by was 
the general, who called again, 

“Give me another handkerchief I No, some- 
thing longer, if you have it.” 

In less than a moment Miss Eslin had pulled 
two white ribbons from Emeline’s braids, knotted 
them securely together and held them out. 


260 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


“ Yes, that’s right, something strong. We’ve 
got to stop this bleeding. Brickett, you take hold 
there ! ” 

“ Let me,” said Miss Eslin, coming forward, as 
even the stalwart Mr. Brickett drew back. “ Is 
Roger hurt ? Mr. Benning ! ” 

She said no more, as at a sign from the general 
Roger laid Egbert flat on the ground and then 
stood by Emmie, shutting his eyes tight for a mo- 
ment. 

“ You’re not hurt, Roger.?’ ” she whispered. 

“ No, I’m not. Egbert is, I’m afraid.” 

There was something solemn in his speaking of 
his cousin by his real name, and Emmie asked no 
more questions. They were joined by Mr. Has- 
lett, who stood helplessly by them, as ready as 
Mr. Brickett to let Miss Eslin act as surgeon’s 
assistant. 

‘‘ He isn’t hurt badly, is he, general ? Miles, 
run to the farm and telephone for the doctor ! ” 

“ Get these boys out of the way ! ” repeated the 
general briefly. ‘‘We can stop this.” 

Mr. Haslett, recovering himself, resumed his 
proper place as head of the camp. 

“ You will see, sir, we have military discipline 
here. Three bells means all are to gather in 
camp ; one bell more means ‘ taps.’ All are to be 
in their tents and lights out.” 

The momentous bell rang, and, doing great 
credit to their discipline, the boys actually dis- 


THE FIELD OF HONOR 


S61 


appeared into the various tents, one or two who 
lingered outside making a rapid exit when shouted 
to by Roger in a voice Emmie had never heard 
from him before. Mr. Brickett and his two dep- 
uties with two of the larger boys guarded the two 
prisoners, but the others, if they could not look at 
the central group, could not look anywhere else 
till the rush of blood from the artery in Egbert’s 
arm had been stopped and nothing more could 
be done till the doctor’s arrival, when Mr. Brickett 
said, “ Here’s another patient for you, general,” 
and showed that one of the poor men had a bleed- 
ing foot. Before his pistol had been wrenched 
from him he had managed to wound himself, and 
seemed now much alarmed, though the shot had 
only grazed him. While the general gave it his 
attention. Miss Eslin kept by Egbert and sent 
Emeline to fetch a glass of water from some jars 
which she saw at one side of the camp. Emmie 
brought two glasses and when Miss Eslin had 
given Egbert a few drops from one she followed 
her example by offering water to the other pa- 
tient. 

In a few moments Egbert opened his eyes and 
saw Miss Eslin before she could hide herself. He 
looked at her solemnly for a moment, as if every- 
thing round him was too strange for much sur- 
prise, then said: 

“ You see I’ve come back. Miss Eslin, a returned 
]6migre.” 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


26 ^ 

“ Yes, I see you’ve come back, but don’t talk 
about that nonsense now. You won’t get any- 
body here to believe it.” 

“ I’m glad,” began Egbert, “ and I’m sorry — ” 

“Oh, just keep quiet, Mr. Benning! I’m boss 
of this job, is that the proper slang.? now they’ve 
left you with me. Don’t say a word. I’ll take 
care of you.” 

She smiled, and Egbert looked dazed at first as 
if he could hardly take in such an amazing trans- 
formation. Then he smiled too, and asked, 

“ Is any one else hurt ? What’s that fellow 
howling for.? ” 

“ I don’t believe he’s much hurt. I guess I 
know his lingo and I’ll make him keep quiet.” 

She turned to the other patient and said a few 
serious words which had the effect of making the 
poor man keep still, but a new difficulty arose 
with the uninjured man, who seemed to be giving 
trouble to his jailors. 

“ Just you come here, young lady! ” called Mr. 
Brickett. 

He hardly looked like a gentleman, and was 
chewing a blade of grass as he kept his eye on the 
prisoner, but he spoke with authority, and Miss 
Eslin came at once. 

“ Tell this fellow, ma’am, he’d better not get 
too fresh. Is he an Eyetalian? ” 

After a few attempts Miss Eslin evidently suc- 
ceeded in making the poor man understand her. 

“ Well, you are smart I ” said Mr. Brickett ad- 


THE FIELD OF HONOR S63 

miringly. “ Tell him I’m the constable of the 
town he’s in.” 

The constable of Crossbrook was certainly a 
very different officer from one who would have 
come forward in his place in any European coun- 
try, but Miss Eslin obeyed him as meekly as she 
would have obeyed a uniformed German official. 

“ Yes, sir,” she said, after trying to find an 
awe-inspiring synonym for “ constable,” “ I think 
he understands that.” 

“ Tell him he needn’t say anything to incrim- 
inate himself, but if he makes a fuss he’ll make 
matters worse. Tell him I’ll take him to the lock- 
up and he’ll be treated fairly.” 

Miss Eslin again interpreted. The prisoner 
answered, but not apparently to her satisfaction. 

“ He says, sir, he doesn’t believe you. He 
doesn’t think there is any authority in this place.” 

“ Hullo, general ! ” called the constable, “ just 
come here, please. You’re the chief of my posse, 
I guess. This fellow won’t believe I’ve any au- 
thority. Perhaps he’ll believe you. Say, show 
him your Loyal Legion or Grand Army button, 
and he’ll think you’re somebody.” 

Miss Eslin didn’t know what the “ Loyal Le- 
gion,” or the “ Grand Army ” were, but she trans- 
lated them into something so imposing that the 
prisoner turned towards the general. 

“ Tell him to behave himself,” said Mr. Rolby, 
“ and if he’s been badly treated by any one, the 
law will take care of that, too. There’s law 


264 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


enough in Massachusetts for him and the fellow 
he’s been after.” Then, as Miss Eslin hesitated, 
“ Come, tell him so! You believe it, don’t you.?^ ” 

“ Yes,” she said gravely, “I do ; ” and fixing 
her large, serious eyes on the prisoner, she spoke 
to him so impressively that he ceased his strug- 
gles and she soon informed the authorities that 
he would be quiet if some one would listen to his 
grievances afterwards. He was sorry the gentle- 
man had been wounded, and hoped his companion 
was not badly hurt. 

“ He’s all right,” said the general impatiently. 

He returned to Egbert, and to their great relief 
Miles Conant appeared in a buggy with the doc- 
tor, whom he had fortunately been able to find at 
once by the farmhouse telephone. There was lit- 
tle left for the doctor to do till Egbert should be 
safe at the farm. He was to be carried there on 
a litter which would be less jarring than the 
wagon. 

“ It’s fortunate you’ve got a nurse here,” said 
the doctor, glancing at Miss Eslin who was close 
by Egbert, her severely plain dress looking like 
a kind of uniform. 

“ That’s not a nurse,” said the general ; “ she’s 
Blanche Gassett’s governess.” 

“ Ah, a sort of attendant,” said the doctor 
blandly. Crossbrook girls of sixteen took care of 
themselves, and he naturally concluded that a girl 
of Blanche’s age who needed an attendant must 
be in feeble health of body or mind. “ Well, a 


THE FIELD OF HONOR 


265 


trained attendant, she seems to know a good deal, 
will do very well for to-night, as I shall stay at 
the farm. Tomorrow we’ll send to Boston for a 
good surgical nurse. We’ll drive to the farm 
when we’ve started the litter. But who’s in the 
road now.?^ ” 

There was a sound of wheels on the soft ground 
as another vehicle appeared over the edge of the 
knoll, and to the amazement of all Mr. Jonathan 
Gassett appeared, driving his daughter, this time 
in his double wagon. Roger, in a moment, from 
force of habit was holding Captain’s head as both 
alighted. Mr. Gassett’s rosy color was deeper 
than usual, but it was the flush of fatigue, while 
Katherine looked more tired and pale than ever. 
But there could be no embarrassment now in meet- 
ing the woman who had fled from her house. Lit- 
tle was said as she and Miss Eslin looked at each 
other across Egbert, who lay, a sad spectacle, 
with his eyes closed and his bandaged and bloody 
arm. 

“ What — what — ” began Mr. Gassett, and the 
others were glad when Mr. Haslett took upon him- 
self the office of explaining matters in his loud 
pulpit voice. 

“ This noble young man, I trust, is not much 
hurt, Mr. Gassett, at least not seriously. Two 
strange Italians came into our camp ; we thought 
they only wished to tell us their troubles, but see- 
ing here a man who they felt had wronged them 
terribly was too much for them, and they had 


266 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


their firearms out. They couldn’t get at their 
enemy, who has run away, and fortunately they 
were soon disarmed by our three strong young 
helpers just before these officers came from Cross- 
brook. But one, you see, was wounded, and, to 
our great distress, Mr. Benning also.” 

“ And what are you here for, an old fellow like 
you.^ ” asked Mr. Gassett of General Rolby, after 
one look at Egbert. 

“ What are you here for, may I ask? ” was the 
retort. “ I’m here with the chief of police as a 
citizen of Crossbrook.” 

“ I came to get my niece,” responded Mr. Gas- 
sett. “ Emmie, are you here? I won’t have you 
another night at the farm with that woman.” 

Katherine tried to hush her father, but it was 
doubtful if Miss Eslin, who was close by Egbert, 
heard anything. Tired and shaken as Katherine 
was, she was almost in tears when Emmie silently 
and caressingly slipped a hand into hers. It com- 
forted her to be by quiet little Emmie, Emmie who 
had made so very little trouble in her whole life, 
and so little this summer when the other girls had 
so much to answer for. 

Poor Katherine needed comfort, for there 
seemed no end to her anxieties. She had brought 
her father home after a long, fatiguing and cru- 
elly disappointing journey, only to have him in- 
sist on driving out to the farm as soon as he 
understood that Emmie was still there. If he 
couldn’t find his granddaughter, he would at least 


THE FIELD OF HONOR 


267 


bring home his niece, and he seemed to regain his 
native confidence when in the old wagon. He had 
come primed with a severe reproof for Roger, who 
he understood was in some way responsible for 
Emmie’s staying with Miss Eslin ; and as for Eg- 
bert, the chief author of all their miseries, he was 
to have the scolding of his life, but it was no time 
now to scold any one. 

“ Is Mrs. Ackers getting ready for us ? ” asked 
the general. “ Go and see, Roger. Make her 
behave herself now; she can if she wants to.” 

“ Had she not better prepare my room for him, 
sir.? ” asked Miss Eslin. “ It is the best and most 
convenient, I think.” 

“Yes, and tell her — ” 

Roger listened attentively to a few directions. 
He was in full possession of himself now; indeed 
he had never wholly lost his presence of mind. He 
had as strong nerves as any boy could have, but 
he would far rather be doing something than stand 
still watching that motionless prostrate figure. 
It was the first time in their lives that his cousin 
could not talk to him. 

He was at the farm in an incredibly short time 
and wasted none in cajoling Mrs. Ackers, nor 
was it necessary. Warned by Miles Conant, she 
was already getting out all her medical and surgi- 
cal supplies, and promised to have the room ready 
immediately. Roger hastened away and had 
hardly entered the wood when he saw a dim figure 
disappearing into the darkness from the path be- 


268 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


fore him. Probably, thought Roger, it was Sol- 
sof, who, having been foolish enough to show him- 
self when he should have kept hidden, had disap- 
peared altogether when his pursuers were captured 
and he was safe. 

“ If that’s you, Solsof,” he shouted, “ you’d 
better make tracks. There’s no use in your being 
round here ! ” 

There was a frightened gasp in reply that 
seemed to come from some young creature, and 
Roger changed his tone. 

“ If that’s one of you kids round, you’d better 
come back to the camp with me. Come, or I’ll 
give you a ducking in the pond tomorrow you 
won’t like ! ” 

“ O Roger ! ” exclaimed a feminine voice, “ is 
that you? ” 

And before Roger knew what he was about, two 
hands had caught his arm with the clutch of a 
drowning person. He was too amazed to show 
any surprise. 

Hullo, Blanche ! ” he exclaimed, as if Blanche 
had never been gone a day. 


CHAPTER XXIV 


HOME AT LAST 

There was no doubt that it was really Blanche 
herself, changed though she was in manner, for 
Roger had never seen her before when she was not 
cool and dignified. 

“ Roger,” she said breathlessly, “ where are you 
going? To that terrible camp? ” 

“ I’ve got to go, Blanche ; you come along too ! ” 
“ Must you go there, Roger? Why do you 
have to? I know what a dangerous place it is. 
What’s been happening there now ? ” 

“ Not much, only Egbert is a little hurt.” 

“ Egbert hurt ! Is he there ? How was it ? ” 
“ Shot through the arm,” said Roger briefly. 
He couldn’t talk more about it yet. 

“ How terrible ! ” said Blanche. 

But in a moment she ceased to cling to Roger, 
and stood up by herself, evidently striving desper- 
ately for self-control. 

“ I don’t know what your plans are, Roger,” 
she said in a strange voice. “ Perhaps you go 
with despatches or have a safe conduct, or per- 
haps it’s something entirely different that I don’t 
know about. I’m sure whatever happens you’d 
be on the right side, the side of law and order. 

269 


270 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


If you can talk with Egbert alone, tell him I’ve 
come back as well as he has. But you won’t want 
to take me where they are all men, and I ought to 
find my grandfather first of all.” 

“Uncle Jonathan! He doesn’t know you’re 
here.^ He’s just come to the camp. All right! 
Come along ! ” 

Without waiting for Blanche to follow him, 
Roger seized her by the arm and dragged her 
along with him. 

“ Is he there really ? 0 Roger ! ” Blanche 

seemed more frightened than ever, why Roger 
couldn’t tell, but making another effort, she asked, 

“ Just tell me truly, Roger, what has happened 
since I left ? ” 

“ Oh, quite a lot of things,” said Roger, sooth- 
ingly but lamely. He really had no time or heart 
to explain further. 

“ Oh,” said Blanche, drawing in her breath with 
a little sob, “ I know there must have been a great 
deal ! I never should have gone ! I shall never 
forgive myself, and Miss Eslin did very wrong to 
advise me to, though she did say it might be my 
duty to come back. Now take me to Grandfather. 
I am ready to go.” 

As the path left the wood, Roger noticed that 
Blanche wore a light travelling dress and carried 
a small straw suit case, which he at once took 
from her. In spite of his impatience he carefully 
helped her up the steep slope. 

“ Hullo ! ” he exclaimed, as they entered the 


HOME AT LAST 


271 


camp grounds, “ they’re ready to move him ! 
Blanche, you go to Uncle Jonathan, but don’t 
jump on him too sudden. They’ve been awfully 
scared about you.” 

He thrust Blanche’s case into her hand and ran 
off to help with the litter. 

Though her grandfather was in plain sight, 
Blanche did not run to him, but, trembling so she 
could hardly stand, sat down on a little mound 
and looked about her. She was as one dazed and 
her dazzled eyes could hardly take in the cluster 
of white tents with the lanterns hanging in the 
centre. They were talking, but she could not at 
drst distinguish the words. Her grandfather’s 
voice sounded cheerful. He would always carry 
a brave front, whatever happened. 

“ Well, doctor,” Mr. Gassett was saying, “ I’m 
glad to hear you say so. You’ll be all right soon, 
Egbert. Oh, don’t begin to talk! I’m not pro- 
voked with you I ” 

In reality the doctor had not expressed a fa- 
vorable opinion in any positive manner. But as 
he and the general were anxious to get Egbert 
safely to the farm, the litter had been hastily 
contrived in Roger’s absence. Roger and a large 
boy prepared to carry it, while Mr. Conant walked 
before with a lantern. Blanche rose suddenly, 
skipped in the darkness over the uneven ground, 
and presented herself before the astonished pro- 
cession, just as they were beginning to descend 
the hill. 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


^72 


“ Get out of the way, Blanche ! ” said Roger 
unceremoniously. 

“ Blanche ! ” exclaimed Miss Eslin, looking for 
an instant as white as if she had seen a ghost. 
But she spoke calmly enough. “ Let us stop a 
moment. I really think it would please him to see 
Blanche. Egbert, here is Blanche, come back 
safe from Canada, you see.” 

“ Yes, Egbert,” said Blanche, still panting and 
taking his uninjured hand in hers, “ I won’t talk 
if you’re much hurt. But you won’t mind my 
saying I’m glad you’ve come back, even if you are 
wounded.'^ I am glad and I want you to know 
I’ve come back, too.” 

“ Blanche ! ” exclaimed Egbert, rousing him- 
self. “ Here.?^ Glory Hallelujah! I don’t care 
if they’ve killed me if you’re all right.” 

“ Don’t talk I ” said Miss Eslin decidedly. 
“ Blanche, go to your grandfather and ask him 
to take Emmie home with you.” 

“ Just wait a minute,” said Roger. “ Blanche ! 
You go where you were before! I’ll come right 
back.” 

He hurried back and ran straight to Kath- 
erine. 

“ Cousin Kate,” he whispered, so that only she 
and Emmie could hear, “ Blanche has come back ! ” 

“ Blanche ! I can’t believe you ! ” 

“ Yes, she has. She’s right over there by that 
tree.” 


HOME AT LAST 


273 


“ How could she get here? ” 

“ Search me ! ” said Roger laconically, as he 
ran back to his post at the head of the litter. 

Katherine was dazed and had but little time to 
think. All through their troubles her one idea, 
next to finding Blanche, had been to keep the 
whole affair a secret, and her instinct now was to 
avoid all publicity. But how would her father 
bear the joyful news? How could he be made to 
keep quiet under the revulsion of feeling? She 
seized her chance to draw him aside when the doc- 
tor had driven off in his buggy, following the lit- 
ter, Mr. Rolby, who had deserted the constable’s 
posse to act as surgeon’s assistant, going with 
him. 

“ What is it, Kitty? You’ve got to tell me all 
the doctor says. How did he say the bone was 
broken ? ” 

“ Father,” said Katherine in the emphatic whis- 
per kept for momentous occasions, “ Father, don’t 
say anything! Don’t be too surprised! We’ll 
understand it all later. Blanche is here ! ” 

“ Blanche ! ” 

“ Don’t say anything, father, don’t ! Emmie, 
run and get her. Don’t let her get away again ! ” 

“ You must come to Uncle Jonathan,” said Em- 
mie solemnly, laying a little cold hand on 
Blanche’s. “ He wants you, and you mustn’t talk 
or say anything people could hear.” 

Blanche rose, pale and solemn, and looked 


£74 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


searchinglj at Emmie, who looked wdld and strange 
in her white frock, her hair, loosened by the night 
wind, hanging about her. 

“ Emmie,” said Blanche, as Emmie led her, 
keeping tight hold of her hand, “ if I haven’t been 
kind to you, or if I’ve ever treated you badly, I 
want you to forgive me now.” 

Emmie couldn’t take in a new subject of 
thought. 

“ Yes, Blanche,” she said, ‘‘ but you must come 
to Uncle Jonathan.” 

The meeting which had promised to be so dan- 
gerous was a very quiet one. Mr. Gassett merely 
said in a muffled voice, so much caution being im- 
pressed upon him that he was afraid to speak 
aloud, 

“ Blanche, you’re coming with us ! ” 

And Blanche dutifully responded, 

“ Yes, Grandfather dear.” 

They were climbing into the old wagon when 
Mr. Brickett left his subordinates to care for his 
prisoners and joined them. 

“ Glad to see you so spry, Mr. Gassett,” he 
shouted sociably, “ but I don’t know as I can al- 
low that. You aren’t going to drive home in the 
dark.” 

“ I drove this horse here and I guess I can drive 
him back.” 

“ Well, I ain’t a-going to let you. You’ve got 
three ladies to take care of, too. Who’s this one? 


HOME AT LAST 275 

I guess I saw her at the picnic. Your English 
granddaughter, isn’t she ? ” 

“ No,” said Blanche in a firm voice, louder than 
she had intended, “ I’m an American, sir ; my 
father has never been naturalized in England.” 

“ A Yankee girl, are you.? That’s right. Now, 
Uncle Jonathan, you just do as I say. Hullo ! 
Mike Sullivan, you’re not the man I want. Here,. 
Rube Danforth, you can drive. Jump into the 
front seat and take the reins, will you ? The three 
ladies can go behind, I guess. Those girls are so 
thin they can squeeze in.” 

Emeline, as the slightest, was put inside, be- 
tween Cousin Kate and Blanche, who seemed 
turned to stone. Every time Reuben Danforth, 
with more zeal than discretion, insisted on taking 
the reins from her grandfather, a shiver seemed to 
run through her. Cousin Kate was almost equally 
silent. 

At last they reached home, where Charlotte 
was anxiously looking out for the wagon. At her 
exclamation, “ Why, Blanche ! Blanche ! ” Cousin 
Kate shook her head and compelled silence. 

Uncle Archie had not been as quick as Charlotte 
in meeting the party. He did not see them till 
they entered the house, then, strong man as he 
was and in the prime of life, the appearance of his 
niece seemed to overpower him more than it had 
any one else. He had risen to greet his father, 
but at the sight of Blanche, who was behind the 


276 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


others, he sat down again and stared at her in 
blank amazement. 

“ Is she all right, Kitty ? ” he asked at last, as 
if Blanche could not answer for herself. “ How 
did she get here? ” 

“ I don’t know, Archie, I don’t understand it 
at all. But we ought to be thankful ! How did 
you come here, Blanche? And where have you 
been since you left the Meecoms ? ” 

“ I came from Quebec, Aunt Kitty ; I stayed 
with the Sisters at the Sainte Auberge.” 

“ Why didn’t you tell us ? Why didn’t you let 
let us know? O Blanche, we didn’t deserve that 
you should treat us so cruelly! You never wrote 
but that one letter that came the day after we 
left, did she, Lottie? ” 

“ No, that was the only letter we had,” said 
Charlotte in a constrained voice. “ Uncle Archie 
wanted to see it, so I showed it to him. I told 
him about my answer, too. Blanche, if you got 
my letter and Julia’s, we’re sorry for them. They 
were all made up to scare you.” 

“ Blanche,” said her uncle, his voice actually 
unsteady with excitement, ‘‘ was that really what 
made you disappear a second time? In your let- 
ter you didn’t seem to believe any of this prepos- 
terous revolutionary nonsense.” 

Blanche looked round the room, bewildered by 
the warmth and light after her long journey and 
the dark drive. There were not only all the as- 
sembled family, but Julia Collamore present. She 


HOME AT LAST 


m 

could not remember just what was in the letter 
which she had hastily written her cousin from Ban- 
nister Bay, but she was terribly sure that it would 
be considered extremely silly by a grown-up per- 
son, and that it undoubtedly contained also a 
touch of girlish malice. It would be damning 
evidence against her in this family court, really 
a far more formidable one than any revolutionary 
tribunal she could imagine. 

The poor child did not realize how thoroughly 
her case had been already canvassed that evening. 
Uncle Archie had been glad to have his father and 
sister out of the way that he might examine the 
girls. He had been by no means sure himself that 
Blanche had sailed for England, though he was 
willing his father should think so if it made him 
any less anxious. He had imagined his niece, 
pretty and foolish, unable to take care of her- 
self, wandering over the American continent. The 
grief and anxiety of his brother John, when the 
news of his daughter’s disappea/rance must be 
cabled to him, he dared not imagine. In terrible 
anxiety he had insisted on Charlotte and Julia 
producing every scrap of information that could 
throw the slightest light upon the mystery. He 
was prepared to call again upon the detectives, 
vain as their help had been, or appeal at once to 
the police of the country, and let Blanche’s pic- 
ture appear in the papers from Maine to Cali- 
fornia. 

Now that Blanche had appeared, apparently 


^78 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


safe and sound, he felt the sudden revulsion of 
feeling that grown-up people experience when a 
naughty child who had hidden itself away is found 
at last and anxiety gives place to indignation. 
Her letter, never intended for his perusal, now 
seemed to show utter heartlessness. As the only 
one of the family who had seen Blanche in Eng- 
land, he felt a certain responsibility for her con- 
duct, and he really would like to have shaken the 
girl who had been the cause of so much misery to 
his father and sister. He was not made the more 
amiable on his own account by the tedious and ex- 
pensive journey he had just taken on Blanche’s, 
which had disarranged all his plans for the sum- 
mer. 

Any other girl in her place would have cried, 
but Blanche seemed kept up by some tremendous 
resolution. She turned to her grandfather, who 
was looking at her earnestly, as if to read the 
words he could not hear. She longed to go to 
him, but dared not before the assembled company. 
Her uncle was determined to know that the best 
was really the truth, that she was safe now and 
had had no painful adventures of any kind. He 
plied her with question after question, to which 
she could only answer, like a witness at court, 
“ Yes, Uncle Archie,” or “ No, Uncle Archie.” 
Katherine hung on every word, and Mr. Gassett 
wished every answer repeated to him, till he saw 
by the burning color on Blanche’s face how really 


HOME AT LAST 


S79 


painful the ordeal was to her, then he suddenly put 
an end to the trial. 

“ Blanche is all right,” he said. “ She just did 
as her governess told her, like a good little girl.” 

The words ‘‘ little girl ” seemed to excuse 
Blanche from all blame. As her grandfather held 
out his hand to her, she ran up to him, threw her 
arms round him to return his kiss, then ran away 
and upstairs. 


CHAPTER XXV 


THE REASON WHY 

Blanche awoke the next morning with the feel- 
ing that she had been the cause of an endless chain 
of trouble. She was still more frightened, when, 
having at last mustered the courage to leave her 
room, she met her grandfather coming soberly up- 
stairs before breakfast. He was all right, she 
soon found out ; he was on the way to visit Aunt 
Kitty, who was the one to succumb at last to the 
strain of the past strenuous weeks. 

Katherine Gassett would have been noticed in 
any crowd as a particularly vigorous looking 
woman. She had a fine upright figure and a 
youthful complexion. Nor did her looks belie her ; 
she had plenty of strength and activity, but, like 
many people of strong feelings, she was of a some- 
what nervous temperament. She had been living 
on her nerves for the past fortnight, and without 
a thought for herself had taken thought for her 
father day and night during their sad Canadian 
journeyings, though no one could have been more 
anxious than herself. At her age she realized 
more fully than did her young cousins the dangers 
awaiting such a foolish child as Blanche, really 
lost in the wide world. Now Blanche was safe ah 
280 


THE REASON WHY 


281 


home, her aunt’s strength gave out, and she was 
so miserable that Mrs. Prendergast threatened 
her with the doctor. 

“ I won’t have the doctor, Vesta ; I can’t,” said 
Katherine, who on the rare occasions when she 
was a patient was a most intractable one. “ How 
can I tell him about our travelling in Canada, and 
how I’ve been frightened.? Let me alone! I’ll be 
all right if Blanche is safe.” 

“ Now, Kitty, I’m not agoing to have you wor- 
ried about that girl. She hasn’t quite her full 
wits ; we can all see that. But we’ll look after 
her. You needn’t have her on your mind one 
minute.” 

So the only doctor Katherine had was her 
father, who came himself to prescribe for “ little 
Kitty,” as he still sometimes called his precious 
only daughter. At the breakfast table Uncle 
Archie remarked severely that it was no wonder 
Kitty was all knocked up, and was grim enough 
himself for the rest of the meal. Emmie was quiet 
as usual. What was really alarming was that 
Charlotte, the family talker, whom Blanche had 
never known to be quiet before, was silent now. 

It was a welcome diversion when Roger entered 
cheerfully with his budget of news. He had spent 
the night at the farm. The doctor was encour- 
aged and was pretty sure now of saving Egbert’s 
arm, in spite of the severe injury to the bone. 
As Egbert had lost a good deal of blood and had a 
high temperature, he was to see no visitors. They 


282 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


would not let him talk, but he had insisted on re- 
questing that there should be no prosecution of 
the poor fellow who had shot him. The man had 
not set out to hurt him and he never would appear 
to testify against him. A surgical nurse had been 
sent for, and of course Roger had been busy send- 
ing out more telegrams, this time to Egbert’s 
mother at Shallow Harbor, and to his father in 
New York. 

Egbert’s condition and Aunt Kate’s seemed so 
much more important to Blanche than her own af- 
fairs that she hoped to pass unnoticed, but that 
could not be. 

‘‘ Blanche,” said her uncle, inviting her into the 
library after breakfast, “ I am telegraphing to 
Mr. Meecom that you are safe here. I want you 
to write a letter to Mrs. Meecom, though it’s diffi- 
cult to know what you can say. When it is fin- 
ished I want to see it, and it must be shown to your 
Aunt Kitty. Then I would like to know exactly 
what you did after you left the Meecoms till you 
came here.” 

Before Blanche could answer the door opened 
softly, Mrs. Prendergast peeped in, nodded as 
if satisfied, and retreated. For some reason 
Blanche could not keep up as well as she could 
last night. She felt that it would take very little 
to set her off crying, and to her horror she saw 
her own foolish letter to Charlotte lying in full 
view on the library table, carefully covered with a 
paper weight. She put out her hand to take it. 


THE REASON WHY 


«88 


“ You can have it if you want it,” said Uncle 
Archie dryly ; “ it’s of no use to us. It’s Lottie’s 
now, though, I suppose.” 

Blanche drew back her hand as her grandfather 
entered the room. 

“ The little girl is here.'^ ” he said cheerfully. 

“ I thought she’d better write here,” said Uncle 
Archie. “ How is Kitty and how are you, your- 
self ? Did you rest last night ? ” 

“ I ! ” said Mr. Gassett, looking at Blanche, who 
was trying to wipe away a few tears without being 
noticed, “ I’m as well as I ever was in my life ! I 
could start for Quebec again today. But you 
go out of the room! You had your turn last 
night. Blanche is going to tell me the real story.” 

“ O Grandfather I ” exclaimed Blanche, her 
tongue loosened for the first time, in spite of her 
tears, when her grandfather had fairly turned her 
uncle out of the room, “ you’re all right, aren’t 
you.? And Aunt Kitty isn’t really ill? ” 

“Your Aunt Kitty? No, she sometimes has 
these little breakdowns. She’ll be all right in a 
day or two. Now don’t be frightened, but tell me 
all about yourself.” 

Mr. Gassett, with his usual thoroughness and 
the patience of a grandfather, possessed himself 
of the facts of Blanche’s story. She was dread- 
fully sorry every one had been so frightened about 
her. She had meant to write sooner, but she was 
so terribly tired every night after Miss Eslin had 
put her into the motor with the Meecoms. She 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


really had no time at all till the day she had 
written to Lottie. 

“ And to you, Grandfather. Did they show 
you my letter to Lottie ” 

“ This letter? ” said Mr. Gassett, taking it up. 
“ No, I went right after Emmie last night as soon 
as I got here.” 

“Oh, please don’t!” cried poor Blanche. 
“ Grandfather, Uncle Archie says that belongs to 
Lottie now. Does it really ? ” 

“ She doesn’t want it. What do we want of 
your letters now? You don’t want me to see it? 
All right ! ” 

As her grandfather, taking the law into his own 
hands, tore the letter into bits, which he tossed 
into the waste basket, Blanche was so everlast- 
ingly grateful to him that she felt the more bit- 
terly she had no good excuse to offer either for 
leaving him at all, or for not writing at once when 
she had gone. Of course she would have written 
had she known that Miss Eslin was to run off too, 
without staying to explain matters, but her real 
reason for putting it off was that, as a child, 
she had always depended on older people writing 
the important letters. It was hard for her to ex- 
plain her going away even to herself. She had 
really been so bored by the midsummer quiet of 
Nomono that she had welcomed any change, but 
she was now so thankful to be back again that 
she had quite forgotten her old discontent. 

Blanche must have whispered her story into her 


THE REASON WHY 


285 


grandfather’s ear, for the family heard nothing 
through the closed door, but every one in the house 
heard Mr. Gassett’s loud report afterwards to his 
son. Blanche mustn’t be bothered any more. It 
was all Miss Eslin’s fault, though Mr. Gassett was 
inclined now to forgive even Miss Eslin. As for 
Blanche, she had been a very sensible, prudent 
child. She had had no thought of going back to 
England and had been guarded in the English 
letters she had sent off before leaving Mount Mc- 
Pherson. In spite of Miss Eslin’s strong influ- 
ence, all Egbert’s tales, and at last the alarming 
letter from Charlotte and the usually trustworthy 
Julia, she had hardly believed there was going to 
be a real revolution. But even if there were 
only the merest chance of peril, she felt that she 
ought to return to her grandfather, to be with 
him whatever happened. She had always been 
reluctant to speak of her fears, or rather her 
doubts, and dared not confess them now, fearing 
the Meecoms would not let her go. She had not 
written to announce her coming, because Charlotte 
had written that the family in Nomono were scat- 
tered. Speaking French fluently, she had found 
from a young Canadian girl the way to the 
Sisters of the Sainte Auberge, who kept open 
house for Catholic girls w'ho came to Quebec. 
Here where only French was spoken and noth- 
ing was known of the outside world, she had 
planned her return journey, and, strangely 
enough, had chosen the very same train her grand- 


286 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


father had taken. Travelling in the common car, 
while his party was in the drawing room car, they 
had not met. 

Thinking it most prudent to see Miss Eslin and 
Emmie first, if they were still at the farm, and learn 
from them the true situation and where her grand- 
father had gone, she had left the train and walked 
from Brickett’s Crossing. When she had heard 
shouting and firing she had hidden in the woods. 
Then came her true fright, but in spite of really 
thinking some terrible revolution had begun and 
that Mr. Brickett in some way had them all in his 
power, she had stood by her grandfather bravely 
and shown herself a real heroine in his opinion. 

It was almost dinner time before Blanche left 
the study and ran up to her room to dry her eyes. 
Before the meal she visited her Aunt Kate with a 
formal apology for her apparently heartless con- 
duct and all the trouble she had given. She would 
try, she said in her pretty manner, to make up for 
it by being very devoted to her grandfather. 

She then, to her cousins’ amazement, entered 
their room and began on apologies and explana- 
tions. She was surprised on her side on meeting 
no ridicule or sarcasms from Charlotte, who al- 
most looked as if she had been crying herself. 
She cut short Blanche’s attempts at confession. 

“ You’d better not say anything, Blanche, 
about how you’ve behaved, or I shall have to say 
how sorry I am for the letter I wrote you, and I 


THE REASON WHY «87 

can talk twice as fast as you can and say twice 
as much.” 

“ I shouldn’t have said you talked so much,” 
said Blanche, determined to apologize for every- 
thing. “ I’m sorry I put that in my letter.” 

“ I’m not ; it’s the truth. But don’t let’s beg 
each other’s pardons. Let’s say we’re even.” 

However anxious Charlotte was, she couldn’t 
be grave long while trying to be friendly, and she 
soon remarked carelessly, 

“ You met Mr. Brickett of Crossbrook last 
night, didn’t you, Blanche.? That man has filled 
lots of offices and he’s competent to fill them all. 
It’s one of the first duties of a politician in Amer- 
ica to eat everything and he certainly can. He 
was running for road commissioner or something 
of that kind when he came to a harvest festival 
last fall, when all the churches united and we girls 
waited on the tables. Mr. Brickett ate every- 
thing we passed him and we got together after- 
wards and found that between us all he had eaten 
forty-three pieces of dried apple pie, and as each 
pie was cut in six pieces that would make more 
than seven whole pies. That’s what I call being a 
real public-spirited man.” 

Blanche smiled a little uneasily. It was kind 
of Lottie to pass it off lightly, but the valiant Mr. 
Brickett had given her the real fright of her life, 
one she felt she never could make light of. Then 
Egbert’s letter was given her, but Charlotte did 


g88 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


not seem to wish to talk about him, and Blanche 
took it without asking a question. 

After dinner poor Blanche dutifully wrote her 
letter of apology to Mrs. Meecom, which she gave 
up to the inspection of her elders. It was a 
proper and quiet little note, giving her homesick- 
ness and her great desire to see her grandfather 
as an excuse for her conduct. It was more ju- 
diciously worded. Aunt Kitty thought, than any- 
thing she could have written herself. Strange 
that a girl who was so grown up in some ways 
should be so foolish in others ! 


CHAPTER XXVI 


AFTERCLAPS 

Egbert was an only child, a precious and much 
indulged one. It was hard for his father and 
mother to understand why he had so suddenly 
come back to Nomono when they had thought him 
on board a yacht bound for Newfoundland. Of 
course they hurried to him at once, and Katherine 
hastened as soon as she was able to the farm to 
give all the comfort and help she could to such an 
old friend as Mrs. Benning. She found Mrs. Pen- 
ning full of gratitude and admiration for Miss 
Eslin, and was too generous to say one deprecia- 
tory word. 

When Egbert was at last able to see visitors, 
Blanche did not ask to go with Charlotte and 
Emeline to the farm, going off in another direction 
with her grandfather. They walked with the en- 
ergetic Miss Marvin, who was now more eager 
than ever to make Miss Eslin’s acquaintance. 
They found the farmhouse now wearing the ap- 
pearance of a hospital, with a corner of the front 
piazza screened off and evidently occupied by an 
invalid. 

Miss Eslin, in a plain gingham gown, was stand- 
ing at a safe distance from the house in earnest 
^9 


290 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


conversation with a very gaily dressed young 
woman who was unknown to them all. As they ap- 
proached the stranger took her leave, and, as she 
went down the hill, favored them with a broad 
smile on a red good natured face, surmounted by 
a most extraordinary hat. 

“ That is an old friend,” said Miss Eslin, “ at 
least I have known her about as long as any one 
in America. Don’t you remember, Lotchen and 
Emmie; darling child, how glad I am to see you! 
Don’t you remember the Katicza we met at the 
bank who couldn’t speak any English.!^ I can’t 
see how she has learned it so fast. She talks quite 
volubly now.” 

“ I remember her very well,” said Charlotte. 
“ I must say I liked her looks better before.” 

“ She is going to be married,” said Miss Eslin. 
“ I suppose that is why she dresses so. She says 
the man is an American citizen and that she is 
very fortunate. I hope it is so, and that he 
doesn’t want her money, for she tells me she has a 
good deal saved up in the bank. Perhaps you 
don’t know,” she continued, in a tone that she evi- 
dently meant all present should hear, “ that I kept 
a watch upon her movements ever since I first met 
her and that she frightened me a good deal with 
stories of some desperate anarchists she knew. 
She seems to know nothing about them now, and 
only wanted to talk about her wedding.” 

“ She won’t dress like that long when she is 
married,” said Hope shrewdly, “ but it’s a stage 


AFTERCLAPS 


291 


they all go through. I wish they wouldn’t. One 
has to be a very old American citizeness to dress 
as I do. But about Egbert, can the girls see 
him? ” 

“Yes, may we. Miss Eslin?” said Charlotte 
timidly. 

“ Please call me ‘ Nurse Margaret,’ dear. I 
like the English fashion of calling nurses by their 
Christian names, and I don’t care to be ‘ Miss 
Eslin ’ now to any of you. You can see my pa- 
tient, but I want to tell you first, Lotchen, that I 
hope you will be very cheerful, and as I believe you 
are in the habit of, as you call it, ‘ scolding ’ him, 
you mustn’t do so any more. He has made the 
amende honorable to me, making every possible 
apology, besides the letter he wrote me. And, 
after all, if he did frighten me, he only did what 
any other boy or young man would have done 
when he saw how timid I was. When I first came 
to the Hallheims in Vienna I had just been 
through an accident in England which made me 
very much afraid of motors, which were newer then 
than now. I could not help showing my fears 
sometimes, so Adolph, the older brother of my 
pupil, Amelie, used to ask the chauffeur to go fast. 
He wanted to see if I should be frightened again.” 

“Oh, you poor thing!” thought Hope. “No 
wonder you were nervous when you first got here; 
with all the revolutions, too 1 ” 

“ Boys like to frighten us poor women,” contin- 
ued Miss Eslin. “ They all do it, I suppose. 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


29a 

Of course Roger wouldn’t, but then he would be 
very exceptional anywhere.” 

“ No, Miss Eslin,” said Hope, “ I beg your 
pardon. Nurse Margaret, — Roger Collamore isn’t 
a bit exceptional. He’s just like any nice Amer- 
ican boy, only he’s stupider at his lessons than 
most of them. You would never feel anxious 
about America if you could see the boys who are 
graduating from our schools and colleges. Why, 
we turn out Roger Collamores by the wholesale ! ” 

“ No, Miss Marvin,” said Miss Eslin firmly, 
“ you’ll never make me believe that. You can tell 
me a great many marvellous stories about Amer- 
ica that may be true after all, but that could never 
be. Rogers aren’t common anywhere. I don’t 
want to talk about myself, but I want you all to 
know that I’m over with my bad dreams. I won’t 
dwell on them; I was very foolish. It isn’t what 
anybody has said that has cured me, though I 
have been talking a good deal with Mr. Haslett, 
and, when I can catch him, with our host, Mr. Ac- 
kers. He is a very sensible man and has voted at 
every Presidential election since 1856. It is what 
I have observed for myself, what I saw that night 
at the camp, when every American, that man of 
Irish descent who came with the constable, and 
even those poor boys from the city, all worked to- 
gether and helped each other. It is something in 
the atmosphere I can’t explain. I don’t know 
how it is in other parts of the country ; there may 
be troubles about trade unions and I am very ig- 


AFTERCLAPS 


norant yet, but you don’t know what a comfort it 
is to feel safe, and I do feel as safe here as I ever 
did in old England. I have persuaded Egbert’s 
father to take his mother for a drive, and I want 
a good talk with you. Miss Marvin, while the girls 
see Egbert. Here he is. Egbert, here is some 
cheerful company for you ! ” 

“ Thank you,” said Egbert, in a hollow voice. 
“ Three cheerful ladies, are they not.? Emmie, 
you’re a good person to come to a hospital ; you’re 
smiling like a basket of chips.” 

“ I’m dreadfully sorry you’re hurt, Bertie,” 
said Emmie sympathetically, “ but you know it 
might have been Rod instead.” Miss Eslin could 
not help giving a little start. “ You know. Miss 
Eslin, Nurse Margaret, I mean,” continued Em- 
mie, fixing her earnest eyes on her friend, “ Roger 
may be stroke oar in the ^arvard boat at New 
London next summer, and how dreadful it would be 
if anything happened to his arm ! ” 

“ Emmie, your sentiments are always proper and 
do you credit,” said Egbert. 

Miss Eslin smiled indulgently. She could not 
understand the intensity of college spirit which 
she found in America, but she took it for granted 
that it was part of the new world civilization which 
she had now begun to study seriously. She per- 
ceived that, at all events, her darling Emeline 
would not need much looking after socially for 
some years. She left the young people to them- 
selves, glad of the chance for a long talk with Miss 


294 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


Marvin, to whom she could speak with more free- 
dom than to any of the family who had such good 
reason to be displeased with her. 

“ Bertie,” said Charlotte when the ladies had 
gone, “ how nice you look ! I mean, how like a 
conspirator.” 

Egbert, paler and more serious looking than 
ever, with his carefully bandaged arm, did indeed 
look as if he had been through some perilous serv- 
ice. 

“ And now I’m told to amuse you,” added Char- 
lotte, “ and I can’t think of a thing to say.” 

“ Amuse me! Do you think I need that.?^ Lot- 
tie, I’ve been more amused than I ever was in my 
life. Nurse Margaret, as she will be called, keeps 
me going all the time. Where she’s got hold . of 
all the slang she talks, I don’t know, — studies the 
comic papers seriously, I suppose. It’s killing 
when she comes out with something about Harvard 
she’s got out of Lampy.^ She thinks she’s so up 
to date ! She says I may laugh all I like ; nurses 
must let their patients laugh at them if they can’t 
amuse them in any other way. She’s a lot funnier 
when she’s serious than when she isn’t. She says 
she is convinced of the stability of our government 
and is quite surprised to find that, while there have 
been such changes in Europe, our national consti- 
tution, to which we must be much attached, has re- 
mained substantially unchanged since before the 
time of Napoleon. She asks me questions, — very 
1 The Harvard “ Lampoon.” 


AFTERCLAPS 


296 


forgiving of her, — but she’s given up trying to get 
information out of Father William. She used to 
ask him little ofF-hand questions, but she says she 
perceives that he has a practical, not a theoretical 
mind. ‘ His practical ability must always com- 
mand respect, as his kind heart must make him 
beloved by all who know him.’ Then when the gen- 
eral is round she comes out with little remarks 
about the march through Georgia, since she’s 
found out he was in it, or something about the old 
Indian campaigns, to show she does know some- 
thing. She has lots of books, but I don’t see how 
she’s any time to read them. I’ve had plenty to 
amuse me,” concluded Egbert, looking at his vis- 
itors with sunken eyes. 

“ But she doesn’t take all the care of you, does 
she.?” 

“ She would if I could get her. That nurse 
from Boston isn’t in it compared with her. When 
she takes hold and helps the doctor with my arm 
it’s another matter. They don’t move it more 
than they can help, but they’ve got to look at both 
sides of it now and then. The doctor will think 
she’s been an attendant on Blanche, who needs 
some kind of a keeper, — in which he isn’t far out, 
— so he gives her all sorts of directions, but she 
won’t give herself away, and if she doesn’t under- 
stand anything, she gets some one to tell her or 
finds it out in a book about nursing she’s got hold 
of. She’s a lot more nerve than you’d think she 
had, too. The doctor told her that if her present 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


29a 

charge should recover, he could get her plenty of 
work to do here, as all the good nurses want to go 
to the city.” 

“ Well, we didn’t appreciate her, did we.?’ Ber- 
tie, it’s wicked to say so, but I’ll tell you what she 
reminds me of, trying to rescue Blanche because 
she rescued another pupil in Russia. She’s like 
the general’s old Newfoundland dog. Ready, who 
was so praised for rescuing a drowning boy he 
wouldn’t let any one go in bathing the Crossbrook 
side of the pond. He pulled everybody right out 
of the water. I didn’t mean anything against her, 
Emmie,” added Charlotte, seeing that Emmie 
looked hurt, as she always did at anything that 
seemed like ridicule of her friend. “ Ready was a 
splendid dog. It’s a compliment to any one to be 
compared to him. And of course we know Miss 
Eslin can do anything with her hands.” 

“ I guess you’d think so, if you heard the sounds 
she gets out of the old parlor organ, most awful 
thing you can imagine when Mrs. Ackers thumps 
on it Sunday evening. Nurse Margaret has fixed 
it up somehow and you’d think you were in a ca- 
thedral to listen to it. The deacon sits by en- 
tranced. Mother can’t bear to look at my arm, 
it makes her faint, so she thinks the old lady’s all 
right and lays all the blame of our revolution on 
Blanche. How is Blanche anyway? ” 

“ Very well,” Charlotte answered, “ and driving 
off with Uncle Jonathan every day.” 

“ I should think she’d be mad enough, though. 


AFTERCLAPS 


You know how I stuffed her, Lottie. I’ve really 
forgotten a good deal I told her when we went to 
Boulder Hill, but it was pretty bad. I hope she 
isn’t so forgiving that she’ll come right out here. 
When I met her that night and found she was back 
all right, instead of in England relating her ad- 
ventures, say, to the king, I was so pleased I made 
a fool of myself and appeared enraptured. I 
don’t want to see her now. My nerves couldn’t 
stand it.” 

Charlotte was silent as she really thought she 
ought not to laugh at Blanche just now, and Eg- 
bert went on, speaking with real, not mock, anxi- 
ety, 

“ There’s another thing that’s worse. You 
know what a time Father William has had, not go- 
ing off anywhere and running round all the time 
this hot weather. I’m dreadfully afraid of his go- 
ing stale and getting off his feed.” 

“ Bertie, you don’t really think so ! ” said Char- 
lotte ; and Emeline, too, exclaimed in dismay. 
“ But he’ll get it all back before there’s any row- 
ing.” 

“ It won’t make any difference if he does, if he 
can’t keep up with the crowd and work off his con- 
ditions. Miss Hope sent him some books, but he 
hasn’t had time to look at them. It’s awful hard 
for him to learn anything. I don’t see why, when 
he’s so venerable in other ways. When the gen- 
eral is here he calls him ‘ Collamore,’ as if they 
were just the same age. Then old Haslett is al- 


298 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


ways at him to take care of his kids. He’s at the 
camp now, giving a swimming lesson.” 

Egbert seemed so anxious about Roger’s ath- 
letic prospects that to change the subject Char- 
lotte spoke of the poor Italians, had he seen or 
heard of them.^^ 

Yes, they’d been round. They were two broth- 
ers or cousins, named Balducci, and came from 
some unheard of place on the further side of the 
Adriatic. Miss Eslin had been over to Cross- 
brook and had a talk with them before they were 
out of the lock-up. Their case was a pretty hard 
one. They had saved up a little money and had 
no end of old and starving relations at home, and 
Solsof had not only got it all away from them 
somehow, but had threatened to have the law out 
of them, claiming that they were in debt to him. 
Then some of their relations who were in the labor 
riots in Beckborough had had a terribly hard time. 

“ I don’t know that I understand all about it,” 
said Egbert, “ but when the fellow who wasn’t shot 
heard that they were not to be prosecuted he came 
here and made all sorts of speeches which the 
old lady interpreted for me. Then the general 
chipped in and gave him a lot of money to make 
up for the way he’d been treated, and he’s gone 
on to Vermont to get a job at working somehow 
in marble, at which it seems he’s quite expert. 
With all the talking to he had from the old lady 
and Mr. Haslett he ought to be a reformed char- 
acter. As for the other fellow, the one whose 


AFTERCLAPS 


299 


foot was hurt, you seem to have converted him, 
Emmie. He’s still round here doing little chores, 
at old Brickett’s, I believe. He wants to see you 
again. He said you seemed like some fairy prin- 
cess, appearing in white as you did, and giving him 
water. He’s carving something for you, a queer 
sort of a locket; those Italians and Swiss are 
clever at such things.” 

“ Isn’t he kind.? ” said Emmie warmly. 

“ And is old Solsof converted too ? ” asked Char- 
lotte. 

‘‘ I don’t know. He was so frightened at the 
row in the camp that night he ran off. He’s been 
too ashamed to write to the old lady again, and 
we don’t know what became of him. He’s not 
likely to come back to these parts.” 

“ What is that procession coming now.? ” 

“ Oh, those kids from the camp. Mrs. Ackers 
has had quite a change of heart about them.” 

Egbert did not say, what was really the truth, 
that he wished Mrs. Ackers had not had a change 
of heart in this respect. He was experiencing the 
trials of being a hero, a reputation he felt he really 
didn’t deserve. Roger had disarmed his man by 
striking up the pistol so that no one was hurt, 
while young Conant and Egbert had tried together 
to grapple with the other, with the result of two 
wounded men. But then, everyone always expected 
Roger to rise to the occasion when presence of 
mind and prompt action were required. 

Egbert, though he had really tried not to study 


300 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


at Harvard, could not help learning without try- 
ing, and had the reputation of a student. All 
the small boys at the camp had been told that here 
was a scholar who had not only risked his life in 
defence of law and order, but had made it his first 
request that there should be no prosecution 
against the man who had injured him. As part 
of their training for American citizenship the boys 
were taken in small relays to see this hero with 
their own eyes. 

Miles Conant, known as “ Smile ” Conant from 
his cheerful disposition, though a serious-minded 
young man in training for the ministry, was quite 
human enough to encourage the practice and en- 
joy the joke at another man’s expense. He was 
now leading by a select party of boys, of whom 
the foremost carried an American flag. He had 
intended to make a speech, pointing to Egbert as 
an illustration, but seeing the two girls on the pi- 
azza, he had the humanity to disband his regiment, 
coming to the house himself to pay his respects to 
Charlotte and Emeline. At the same time Miss 
Eslin appeared and with a little good natured ban- 
ter in various languages dispersed the remaining 
boys. 

Blanche inquired properly about Egbert’s 
health when the girls returned, but to their re- 
lief did not propose going to the farm herself. 
Neither of them could have intimated to her that 
she wasn’t wanted there, and they really felt much 
more kindly to her than they had since she had 


AFTERCLAPS 


301 


first come to Nomono. Blanche, thought in- 
credibly foolish, disapproved of by her elders, hid- 
ing herself in her grandfather’s study to escape 
Mrs. Prendergast’s espionage, and grateful when 
awkward subjects were avoided, was a much nicer 
and more likeable person than Blanche judging 
everything in the town in a superior manner, want- 
ing to be spoken to first by the boys, and taking 
all attentions from visitors as only her due. 

Certainly poor Blanche had enough to make her 
humble. Not only did all her elder relatives, ex- 
cept her grandfather, feel it their duty to instruct 
and advise her, but the maids thought they must 
do their part. Vesta presented her with a history ; 
Bridget with a picture of the President, perhaps 
in hopes it would make Blanche feel that she was 
well protected ; while Agda gave her a picture 
postcard of the old Boston State House, as if to 
impress her with the civilization typified by the 
sacred codfish. Even Mabel Lowe contrived by 
relating sad tales of her Canadian experiences 
in a respectfully reproachful manner to show 
“ Miss Blanche ” all the trouble for which she was 
responsible. Mabel had never seen a lady so de- 
voted to her father and to doing her duty as was 
Miss Gassett, and she intimated that Miss Blanche 
would do well to follow her aunt’s example. 

Egbert was no longer at the farm. His par- 
ents and the doctors were anxious that he 
should go to the city that his seriously in- 
jured arm with the shattered bone might be treated 


S02 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


with X rays in the newest possible manner. 
Roger went too, as his father was equally anxious 
that he should have some real study before his 
late September examinations. After accompany- 
ing his aunt and cousin to Boston, he went on to 
Cambridge, where he was soon working at a twelve 
hour day, and far too busy to report to any one. 

Miss Eslin was left alone at the farm, and Kath- 
erine was planning to get her quietly back to 
Nomono. She was thinking how to broach the 
subject to her father, when, the day after Eg- 
bert’s departure, as she was alone with her 
brother, there was the loud, familiar peal from the 
doorbell. 

“ O Archie, what’s this ? A cablegram ! ” ex- 
claimed poor Katherine. “ Can they have heard 
anything abroad Blanche said she was so care- 
ful in what she wrote from Canada. But it isn’t 
for us, it’s for Miss Eslin.” 

“ Tell that woman to stop the racket,” said 
Archie, “ or we’ll put her in the nearest insane asy- 
lum. We can’t stand anything more. We’d be 
justified in opening this.” 

“ No, we must treat her like anybody else now. 
Drive me out to the farm and I’ll give it to her.” 

Miss Eslin was upstairs in her room, and Kath- 
erine, who preferred to see her alone, went up with 
the fateful looking envelope. 

“ A cabled message for you, Miss Eslin,” she 
said, in as matter-of-fact a tone as she could as- 


sume. 


AFTERCLAPS 


303 


Miss Eslin took it, startled, controlling herself 
though her hands trembled. 

“ I thought it might be something about 
Blanche,” she said quietly, when she had read the 
message, “ but it is for me. My mother is dead.” 

Though she would not break down, she looked 
as if she had received the saddest news that could 
ever come to her. 

“ I’m so sorry, dear ! ” exclaimed Katherine in 
her warmhearted way. “ Come to us. Come 
right home! We’ll all help you!” 


CHAPTER XXVII 
REACHING THE GOAL 


Hearing that Miss Eslin had come to Nomono, 
Hope Marvin, Julia Collamore, the Miss Nyes 
and other friends came with kind offers of help, 
and she was soon dressed in the deep mourning 
which she considered proper. She stayed in her 
room by herself most of the time, as she could not 
but see that her presence at meals in her black 
dress had a sobering effect on every one at the 
table. Emmie tried to sit with her, but was sent 
away. Miss Eslin saying, 

“ You are the greatest comfort to me, dear, 
when I think of you as outdoors, well and happy.” 

But Katherine was determined that Miss Eslin 
should not shut herself up again to brood now 
over such an evidently deep and real affliction. 
Now she had broken the ice, she would give her 
sympathy, even if she appeared intrusive. 

“ Had your mother been ill long? ” she asked 
once, having softly entered the room. 

“ She had been out of health for a long time,” 
said Miss Eslin. “ I hope she did not suffer much, 
but I shall never cease to reproach myself that, 
owing to my folly, her last days must have been 
so unhappy.” 


304 


REACHING THE GOAL 


305 


“ You didn’t write to her about this affair? I 
know you wrote a good many letters, but I thought 
that perhaps — perhaps you were engaged — ” 

“ Oh, no, I have no ties now in any country,” 
said Miss Eslin. 

Her eyes filled, though she seemed like one too 
familiar with sorrow to cry easily. She looked 
so forlorn that Katherine impulsively threw her 
arms round her and kissed her. Miss Eslin 
seemed to find comfort from the sympathy and re- 
lief in speaking. 

“ Yes,” she said, “ I wrote freely to my mother. 
We were everything to each other and I promised 
when I left for America that I would keep a jour- 
nal and tell her everything, just as I did when I 
was in Russia and Portugal, but I am sure she did 
not tell any one. I cautioned her to be very care- 
ful as to what she said, and we corresponded in a 
cipher in German script, which I am sure no one 
but ourselves could ever make out. I broke off 
my journal when I left this house and asked her 
not to write again till she heard from me. She 
could not have received the only letter I wrote 
from the farm, which would have reassured her. 
In her last letter she expressed great anxiety for 
me, which was increased by some correspondence 
from America she had read in a German paper. 
Of course she did not realize, any more than I did 
at first, the extent of the country, and that Mas- 
sachusetts is very different from the West and 
South. But, oh, why do you Americans make 


306 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


yourselves out so different and so much worse than 
you are? I was very foolish, I know, but indeed 
I had excuses.” 

“ I don’t blame you at all, dear. If I had heard 
the stories you had and believed as you did, I 
should have felt just the same, but I think I 
should have run away instead of staying to help.” 

“ You are very kind to say so. You are all 
kind. I never knew what real neighborliness was 
till I came here. Perhaps that was our fault, for 
there are kind people everywhere in the world. 
But while my father lived we moved so often we 
had no chance to make friends. Afterwards, per- 
haps my mother was sensitive; she could not bear 
to accept kindnesses which she could not return. 
As she depended on me for support, she was al- 
ways afraid I should do too much and would not 
spend a penny unnecessarily, so she lived a very 
retired life and knew almost nothing of what went 
on in the world. Our pastor. Monsieur Chatrain, 
who is attending to the funeral, promised me that 
he would watch over her if she were ill. I will ask 
him to destroy any of my letters in cipher he may 
find. I do not want them sent back here.” 

“ But would you not like to go back to Swit- 
zerland as soon as you can ? ” 

“No, I do not think that will be necessary. I 
know I shall not be wanted again as Blanche’s 
governess, and it is a great relief to me that her 
uncle will take her himself to the other side. I am 
very glad she can be so much to her grandfather. 


REACHING THE GOAL 


307 


She is a girl on whom it is hard to make an im- 
pression, but, once made, it may be all the 
stronger. For myself, I have had an offer that I 
feared I should have to decline on account of my 
mother, which I now think I will accept.” 

Miss Eslin paused, then went on, 

“ That good man, Mr. Haslett, — the young 
folks should not laugh at him, for he is like one of 
those hard-working saints we read of in books, — 
wants me to take the position of interpreter for 
the Christian Immigrants’ Aid Society in Boston. 
I always learned languages quickly and I really 
think I could do the work and that I am more 
fitted for it than for teaching.” 

“ And would you really like to live in America ? ” 
asked Katherine in surprise. 

“ Yes, nothing is more interesting to me than 
your civilization, for I see you have a civilization 
of your own, which I should never have guessed 
from some Americans I have met abroad, who 
seemed to me so rootless, to have so little back- 
ground, if I may so express it. Whether you can 
take in all who are coming here, I do not know, 
but I believe I could help some of the poor new- 
comers, and that it is what my mother, who was 
always a stranger and a sojourner wherever she 
lived, would like to have me do. Forgive my talk- 
ing so much of myself. I have no one now to 
write to.” 

“ Tell me everything, dear. You know I didn’t 
even know your name, only your initials, till I 


308 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


heard you were ‘ Nurse Margaret ’ at the farm.” 

“ My name is Marie Marguerite. My mother 
always called me by the last name and I should 
love to have you do so, too. I hope the others 
will learn it.” 

Blanche had met her governess quietly, and ex- 
pressed her sympathy in a proper and perfunctory 
manner, while Mr. Gassett showed his feelings by 
saying plainly, 

“ I’m sorry to hear that you’re in trouble.” 
Then, after a moment’s hesitation, “ I know there 
are always expenses in closing an estate, and all 
that, and your new clothes, of course, and I’d like 
to help you, if you don’t mind. You won’t be hurt 
if I ask you to take this little check, will you ? ” 

“ Oh, no, sir, not hurt, but I don’t need it, and 
you are too good after all the trouble I have given 
you.” 

“ All right ! All right ! ” exclaimed the old man 
hastily. 

Becoming, as usual on such occasions, conven- 
iently deaf, he thrust the check, by no means a 
small one, into her hand, escaped as Blanche had 
done, and prepared to drive out with his grand- 
daughter to inspect a new wood lot he had lately 
bought some miles distant from the town. 

Blanche had none of her old difficulty in finding 
something to say to her grandfather. She had 
plenty to talk about now ; indeed he was the only 
person to whom she could speak freely of the ex- 


REACHING THE GOAL 


309 


periences which had been so terribly important 
and interesting to herself. Mr. Gassett had been 
brought up in an old-fashioned New England 
household where works of fiction were considered 
frivolous. He had been a hard-headed business 
man, and had never read a fairy story, scarcely 
even a novel, in his life, but he must have had a 
vein of romance hidden away somewhere, and now 
Blanche’s stories of her adventures were an endless 
delight to him. He asked to hear them over and 
over again, thinking her a most remarkable girl. 

How strange it seemed to them both that he 
had been close by her on the same train and they 
had neither of them known it ! 

An exciting episode was when she crossed the 
border. Once she had been quite alarmed when 
two young men in a seat behind had looked at her 
earnestly and then whispered to each other. 
Blanche modestly intimated the relief she felt when, 
by a word she chanced to overhear, she was sure 
that it was only her golden hair which was the sub- 
ject of remark, and that the two men, who soon left 
the train, were not revolutionary secret-service 
agents. Then how exciting it was when she had 
nearly reached her goal and heard the tumult 
of a real battle! But the most thrilling moment 
of all was when she had confessed to Mr. Brickett 
that she was a true American. 

“ And you know. Grandpapa, I really thought 
then that you were in danger. But I felt, oh, so 
glad I’d found you ! ” 


310 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


Blanche never expressed the slightest wish for 
the boys’ return ; indeed Charlotte, who openly 
lamented their absence, thought her silence really 
suspicious. 

“ Bertie and Rod are coming here this after- 
noon,” she announced one day late in September. 
“ They’ve come back, and I know Bertie can go 
everywhere now. We’ll go down to the Corwins’ 
court. You’ll come too, won’t you, Blanche.? ” 

“ I’ve no time to,” said Blanche. “ I shall have 
to make some calls, of course, before I go, but I 
don’t want to lose a day when I can drive with 
Grandfather.” 

As Blanche recovered her spirits, her instinct 
to assume a superior air with her cousins revived. 
Formerly she had taken the part of a grown-up 
society young lady, while they were mere children ; 
now she was the devoted domestic character and 
they giddy, pleasure-loving young creatures. 

“ I wish that Mr. Brickett would go,” she con- 
tinued ; “ he ought not to stay talking about roads 
now ; he must see that Captain is ready at the 
door. I know Grandfather is determined to drive 
to Crossbrook to see the general, and it will be 
very late for him, coming home by the swamp in 
the night air.” 

Mr. Gassett had never minded any kind of air, 
but Blanche now assumed that he needed care and 
she must give it. Even Aunt Kitty wasn’t careful 
enough to suit her. 


REACHING THE GOAL 


311 


“ There they are ! ” exclaimed Charlotte, as the 
two boys entered at the front door. 

She ran to meet them, but they very properly 
asked to see Miss Eslin first. Each carried a 
large box, ordered the day before in Boston, filled 
with flowers which they considered suitable for a 
person in mourning. As Miss Eslin did not care 
to meet all who entered the hospitable house, they 
went up to see her in the old schoolroom. She 
did not let them stay long, and they were down- 
stairs so soon that Katherine, who came in to see 
them, found them gone. 

“ See what beautiful flowers they brought me ! ” 
said Miss Eslin. “ They are dear boys. They 
have the honest frankness of English public-school 
lads, with the kind feelings and simplicity of our 
German boys, and the quaint humor, and, I don’t 
know what you would call it, the American flavor, 
added. And there is a manliness about both of 
them, in spite of their boyishness, which one feels 
one can trust.” 

Katherine wouldn’t for the world differ from 
Miss Eslin when the lady felt so kindly toward 
American boyhood. She could agree with her 
fully as to Roger, but she had never considered 
Egbert a model of frankness, kindliness, simplicity 
and manliness. She could only suppose that in 
his invalid days at the farm he had shown his nurse 
a side of his character she had never been privi- 
leged to see. 


312 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


Meanwhile Charlotte and Emeline had gone up- 
stairs for extra wraps, as the day was chilly, and 
Blanche was alone. If she were going out with 
her grandfather, there was no reason why she 
shouldn’t look well, and she stood in front of the 
tiny mirror inserted in the chimney piece to ar- 
range a new hat and veil to her satisfaction. She 
heard steps, and before she could turn round, 
Roger appeared in the doorway, and Egbert, pale 
and interesting looking, with his arm still in a 
sling, peeped in behind. In one second the small 
but truthful glass showed a company smile on 
Blanche’s face, and a look of dread and comic hor- 
ror on Egbert’s. In the same second a flash of 
insight told Blanche that Egbert really was afraid 
of her saying or doing something foolish or senti- 
mental, and dreaded meeting her alone. He dis- 
appeared with the quickness of lightning, leaving 
Roger to advance alone and exclaim cheerfully, 
“ Hullo, Blanche ! ” a greeting that seemed proper 
for every occasion. 

Roger had no dread of Blanche, nor she of him, 
even if he had seen her making herself absurd by 
returning heroically to live or die with her friends 
that night at Balsam Knoll. She felt that any 
other boy would tease her about it, or laugh at her 
behind her back, but that Roger would do neither, 
and that if any of the other witnesses only talked 
about it, he would stop them somehow. In some 
ways she felt as safe with Roger as with her grand- 
father, which was perhaps one reason why she had 


REACHING THE GOAL 


313 


never found him as interesting as she did Egbert. 

He was glad to see her, but his broad smile 
showed that he was gladder still when Charlotte 
and Emeline entered, looking as bright as the day, 
with their pretty white knitted jerseys over their 
linen blouses. 

“ Roger ! ” they both exclaimed, “ how did you 
get on at Cambridge ? ” 

“ All right, I guess. It’s queer, Lottie, when 
I hadn’t been studying this summer, but I’m pretty 
sure I’ll get a B., or at any rate a C. for both the 
old things.” 

“ I’m very glad ; I congratulate you,” said 
Blanche properly. “ I have some work to do up- 
stairs, Lottie; I will come down when Grandfather 
is ready.” 

“ How splendid ! ” exclaimed the girls, as 
Blanche departed, and Charlotte added, “ Of 
course we were anxious, and Bertie was, too.” 

“ Rotten Eggs needn’t have been so scared. I 
know more than he thinks. He was always worry- 
ing for fear I’d go stale, too. I guess he was blue 
because he felt so mean himself. Weren’t you. 
Rotten Eggs ? ” as Egbert entered softly. 

“ Where is Blanche ? ” he asked, looking 
solemnly round before answering the girls’ warm 
greetings. 

“ She was just here,” said Roger. “ Why 
didn’t you come in.? ” 

“ I was making up my mind to it. I suppose 
she’ll be down again soon.” 


314 


A SUMAIER SIEGE 


“ I don’t know,” said Charlotte. “ You see, 
she’s grown so very superior and religious that 
when she isn’t driving with Uncle Jonathan she 
stays up in her room making indestructible overalls 
for Mr. Haslett’s boys. Why, perhaps she won’t 
even ask if you’ve been here ! ” 

Egbert looked properly humbled. 

“ I don’t take any stock in her religion,” said 
Roger bluntly. He spoke from no dislike of 
Blanche, but like most men he saw no use in a 
woman’s having any religion that didn’t make her 
sensible and well behaved. 

“ I didn’t at first,” said Charlotte in a different 
tone. “ I thought she just felt grand to have a 
Prayer Book bound in red morocco with gilt edged 
leaves, when Emmie and I didn’t have anything of 
the kind, but I suppose it was her principles that 
made her come back thinking she was really going 
to the guillotine. I’m not jealous of Uncle 
Jonathan’s taking her to drive every day. I 
really think when she’s gone he’ll find Emmie and 
me quite lively company.” 

“ I should think he might ! ” said Egbert. 
“ Don’t fish for compliments, Lottie.” 

“ I’m not fishing for myself, only for Emmie. 
I’ve always known she was Uncle Jonathan’s pet, 
but I never was jealous.” 

“ O Lottie ! ” exclaimed Emmie in amazement 
and distress. 

“ Emmie,” said Roger abruptly, ‘‘ they’ll have 
enough at the Corwins’ without us. It’s a splen- 


REACHING THE GOAL 


315 


did day for a tramp. I’ve been working like a 
coal heaver in the house, and I want to get out- 
doors. Let’s you and I go along the Crossbrook 
road and find the old house again. They say 
there’s a place beyond in the pine thicket where 
there are some old Indian graves — at least, some 
mounds that sound hollow when you jump on them. 
We’ll explore all round there.” 

“ O Roger, will you take me.? Cousin Kate 
won’t let me go alone, and nobody else wants to 
go there.” 

“ You’d better borrow some of Blanche’s in- 
destructible suits,” said Charlotte, but Roger and 
Emmie soon escaped from her ridicule, and were 
off on the Crossbrook road, with their staves for 
tramping, and even a little lunch for tea that 
Cousin Kate provided. 

“ Well,” said Egbert, thinking that they had 
been waiting for some time, “ is Blanche really 
going to stick up in her room, or are we going 
to the Corwins’ without her.? ” 

‘‘ I don’t want her to come till I’ve told you how 
things are here. You haven’t said anything out- 
side about the revolution, have you? ” 

“Not a word. Do you think I’m going to tell 
people what a fool I was and what a mess I made ? ” 
“ We haven’t told of it either,” said Charlotte. 
“ Cousin Archie doesn’t want us to breathe a word 
of it. He seems to think our family will be dis- 
graced if the truth about Blanche’s going away 
ever comes out. I don’t believe it ever will ; people 


316 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


are so stupid ! Eleanor Corwin asked if we hadn’t 
had a dull time here this summer. Dull ! I wanted 
to say, ‘ I could a tale unfold ! ’ ” 

“ It’s a mercy people haven’t caught on,” said 
Egbert. ‘‘ If we hold our tongues a little longer, 
they never will. Those detectives now, I suppose, 
are all busy with the Back Bay robberies.” 

“ But do you know, Bertie, I’ve reckoned up all 
the people who were in the secret, not counting the 
detectives, and I think there must be at least 
thirty people who know all about it. And if Agda 
has told half the men who come to see her at the 
back porch evenings, three hundred more ought 
to know, but then they all speak different lan- 
guages and I suppose with Agda they’ve something 
else to talk about.” A roguish smile lit up Char- 
lotte’s face. “ Bertie,” she went on, “ let’s get up 
a society of those who know, the ‘ Veterans of the 
Revolution of 19 — Then when we meet we can 
have a grip and a password, and join every year in 
a mysterious festival.” 

“ I don’t know, Lottie ; I guess Cousin Archie’s 
right. The whole thing was rather a queer, un- 
canny sort of affair. It had better be forgotten. 
It has made you and Emmie thinner than ever, and 
has almost been too much for Cousin Kate. Well, 
I got the worst of it, anyway. But, say, isn’t 
Blanche ever coming down.? I must see her! I 
can’t let it go without saying something. I don’t 
mind Uncle Jonathan being round, if he does hear, 
and you may stay, too, Lottie, to bear witness.” 


REACHING THE GOAL ai7 

“ O Bertie, this is very exciting ! What are you 
going to say to her? I’ll get her.” 

Charlotte ran upstairs to Blanche’s room. 
There was Blanche at work, hut not on indestruct- 
ible garments for Mr. Haslett. She was knitting 
an elaborate necktie for her grandfather of a style 
then in vogue. Charlotte and Emeline had made 
them for Egbert and Roger, and Blanche was de- 
termined that Mr. Gassett should have one just 
as fine. On being told that Egbert particularly 
wished to see her, she put aside her work and went 
downstairs with dignity. Mr. Brickett having 
finally departed, both Mr. Gassett and Egbert 
were waiting in the hall. 

“ Blanche,” said Egbert seriously, “ I’m glad 
to see you. I want to tell you I’m sorry I scared 
you. You must forgive me. As I wrote, it was 
all a fake.” 

“ You must not reproach yourself too much,” 
said Blanche, and there was a real dignity in her 
grown-up manner. “ I don’t wonder you couldn’t 
help deceiving me when I was so silly and ignorant. 
I’m not sorry myself. I could not have learned 
so much in any other way as I have from my 
experiences. I’m glad your arm is better. I 
suppose you will soon be going back to Cambridge. 
I shan’t bid much of a good-bye to you or any 
one; I expect to return every year to America 
to see my grandfather.” 

Blanche insisted that Mr. Gassett should get 
into the wagon first. Then she climbed in after 


318 


A SUMMER SIEGE 


liim, first putting in the weight herself, dispensing 
with Egbert’s one-armed services with a queenly 
little wave of her hand. 

“ There ! ” said Charlotte, as the wagon dis- 
appeared, “ isn’t she superior now.? ” 

“You bet she is, Lottie! And isn’t she hand- 
some.? ” 

“ Why, Blanche,” said her grandfather, look- 
ing back at the young people, “ aren’t they going 
to have a tennis match or something.? Don’t you 
want to go too.? I can drive alone all right; or 
if that frightens you. I’ll get your Aunt Kitty or 
David.” 

“ No, Grandpapa, you can’t get rid of me. I 
only want to go with you.” 




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